Police said on Friday they were waiting to question a man who had to be rescued by firefighters after he got stuck in the chimney of an Australian outback pub.
Officers believe the man — too late to be making a Christmas delivery — may have been an incompetent burglar who got wedged into the tight spot as he tried to break into the premises.
Firefighters took about 90 minutes to free him from the chimney of the Gapview Hotel bar in Alice Springs after staff heard his moans early on Friday morning. He is thought to have been stuck for more than 10 hours.
Alice Springs fire station officer Mark James said the rescue was “unusual”.
“When we first got here we, because we’ve never been confronted by anything like this before, [thought it was] a little bit daunting,” he told national radio.
“But we just worked through it and he’s fine and now we’ve got him out.”
Police said the man, who was eventually freed after the brick fireplace was smashed down with a jackhammer, was suspected of attempting to rob the hotel when he got stuck.
He had not been arrested and officers would seek to get his side of the story before pressing any charges, a police spokesperson said. “He has been taken to hospital, we have to wait until he has been treated,” she told AFP. — AFP