A 62-year-old man buried alive in an underground cellar for four days has been rescued after cops heard his muffled cries for help.
The incident happened in the European country of Moldovia.
The police had visited the area in connection with the death of a 74-year-old woman, whose lifeless body was found in her own home by a relative on Monday, May 13.
Forensic specialists were called to the scene and found she had died from multiple wounds.
Their investigation led them to the home of an 18-year-old man later that day. He was found in a state of drunkenness and was arrested at his home in the same village of Ustia in northwest Moldova.
During questioning, the youth reportedly gave confusing and inconsistent statements, and when officers searched his home, they heard cries for help coming from nearby.
As officers approached the noise they soon realised it was coming from underground, and once they started digging they discovered the entrance to a makeshift basement.
Police footage of the rescue shows the man being pulled from the ground. He was conscious and had a neck wound.
He later told police that he and the teenager had been drinking together when they started arguing, which led to the boy wounding him, locking him in the basement and covering the entrance with soil.
Officers believe the young man allegedly murdered the elderly woman on Sunday (May 12) night or in the early hours of Monday.
He has been remanded into custody as police and prosecutors continue to investigate him for murder and attempted murder, and faces life in prison if found guilty.
The rescued man is receiving treatment in hospital.
One local said about the deceased victim: “She was a very decent woman, no one ever had any problems with her.”
See the rescue scene here.
