A 65-year-old woman was seriously injured Friday when she fell into a cistern on the property of a new home she and her husband had just purchased on Staten Island, authorities said.
The woman, identified by the FDNY as Georgia Lind, was walking around the yard with her husband, taking pictures of the 240-year-old mansion and property, when she fell into the cistern.
The underground device was described by the FDNY as 10 to 12 feet deep with a 4-foot-by-4-foot opening. It is designed to catch rainwater.
It was covered by a wooden plank that gave way, officials said.
FDNY rescuers were able to pull her out less than an hour after she fell in.
Lind suffered head trauma and was in critical condition at Richmond University Medical Center.
The couple closed on the house this week. They were planning to turn it into a restaurant, according to the FDNY battalion commander on scene.
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