A man was rescued from a deep storm drain at Sydney’s Balmoral Beach after becoming trapped and almost drowning.

The ordeal unfolded on Thursday night when the man fell into an open stormwater drain more than two metres deep and was unable to climb out.

According to a social media post about the incident, the man was ‘literally swallowing water and nearly drowning’ as he struggled inside the drain.

His wife reportedly ran to the nearby Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant to get help.

One staff member immediately rushed to the scene and tried to pull the man out but realised he couldn’t lift him alone.

The worker then jumped into the drain to help free him.

The rescuer also struggled to climb out afterwards and swallowed water during the effort.

‘Not every hero wears a cape… sometimes it’s just a restaurant uniform and an apron,’ the post read.

A man was rescued from a deep storm drain at Sydney’s Balmoral Beach after becoming trapped and nearly drowning.

The rescuer reportedly had difficulty getting out afterwards and also swallowed water.

This was not the first time a man had been dramatically rescued from a drain — although in that earlier incident, the grate had been bolted shut.

In March 2024, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson told the ABC a man climbed into a drain to retrieve his phone but became trapped for about 36 hours.

‘Firefighters opened the lid and lifted him out,’ the spokesperson said.

Bystander James Lingwood told the ABC he first heard what sounded like ‘half yelling’ coming from the drain and soon realised a man was stuck inside.

‘I’m thinking, what do I do, but he seemed to be okay,’ he said.

‘He said he can get out of the top where he got in, so I just left him alone.’

Mr Lingwood said he initially did not call for help because he believed the man could contact emergency services himself.

He eventually rang triple-0 after hearing the man calling out again the following day.