67-year-old North Carolina man falls 30-feet into well, spends hours in cold water

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A North Carolina man is grateful after he fell down a 30-foot well in Catawba County.

Jack Combs, 67, told ABC affiliate WSOC he was working to shut off a water line when he fell through a piece of tin that was covering the old well he didn't know existed.

"When I landed I just didn't have my wits about me," Combs told WSOC. "I was wet -- soaking wet."

Combs said after falling he called for help every 90 seconds for 3.5 hours before a friend eventually came to check on him and found him in the well.

"He said where are you? Walk to the well house I'm down this hole. He was very worried," Combs said.

Combs said he's thankful for the first responders who saved him, especially one Hickory firefighter who went down in the well to rescue him.

"He said 'Don't worry, we're going to hook you up make sure you're very comfortable and pull you up, it won't be a problem,'" Combs recalled.

Combs said he injured his back in the fall and is still in some pain but is doing much better now.

"I'm grateful every day," Combs said. "I was grateful and thankful and certainly relieved that I was going to get out of there, and boy, it was a very good feeling."