Why are people climbing out of manholes in Manhattan? Here's what is really happening

Three people were seen climbing out of a Manhattan manhole near Penn Station, with police investigating why people are entering NYC's sewer system.

Published on: Aug 26, 2026, 03:00:20 IST

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Three people were caught on camera crawling out of a manhole near Penn Station in the middle of the night, and it's the latest in a string of mysterious sewer incidents that has New York baffled for months.

What happened new Penn Station

The NYPD is looking into a video that shows three people climbing out of a manhole on Seventh Avenue near 32nd Street, close to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. The incident took place last Tuesday, August 18, at around 4am local time, as per ABC News.

The clip, which was posted to TikTok, shows the group climbing out of the manhole one after another, wearing black overalls and headlamps. Footage shows them pulling themselves out from underground before running away.

Here is the clip:

The NYPD is aware of the incident and is actively investigating," a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement on Monday. “There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.”

Police say they are searching for three people in connection with the August 18 incident.

Are these people looking for valuables?

Detectives believe many of the underground scavengers caught on camera are migrants searching for anything of value in the sewer system. Investigators have reportedly traced this to a scavenger culture in places like Venezuela, which saw a surge of nationals arriving in the city during the immigration crisis that began in 2022, according to ABC News.

NBC News, citing a senior law enforcement official, reported that one theory investigators are considering is that those in the videos are “scouring the system for valuables that get into the sewage.”

As per reports, in earlier cases, detectives found some of the men involved. Some were charged with minor crimes, but the charges were later dropped because they were first-time offenders. In other cases, prosecutors decided not to file charges.

Not the first time

This isn't the first time , similar incidents happened this summer too. Surveillance footage had earlier caught groups of people entering or leaving manholes at night. Two such cases were reported in Brooklyn, where one group left after about three hours and another after over two and a half hours, as per USA Today.

Is it dangerous to enter NYC's sewers?

Officials say yes. "DEP works closely with our public safety partners to help ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure throughout New York City. Entering the sewer system is both illegal and extremely dangerous. Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces. For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall," a DEP spokesperson said.

The NYPD earlier told NBC News: "The NYPD, to make sure there was not a threat to the public, sent their highly trained Emergency Services Unit officers into the sewer system to make sure nothing nefarious had been left behind by the individuals- nothing was found." The DEP also inspected the sewer system and found no damage to its equipment.

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