Five young adults exploring a storm drain were found alive after being washed away by runoff from a thunderstorm Thursday night, authorities said. The five, who were among eight people 18 to 25 years old who were exploring the drain, were located about 350 yards inside the drain about 11:30 p.m., said Fire Department spokesman Brad Stewart. ``They're all alive,'' Stewart said. One of the eight, John Shaffer of Charleston, said he and two friends were able to escape the drain. ``We got washed down the tube,'' said Shaffer, 21. ``We got a quarter of the way down and the water got so high. We tried to get out and we got washed out. ``We were just exploring there,'' he said. ``It wasn't raining when we went in, but then the water came in.'' The storm dumped up to 1{ inches of rain in a two-hour period in the area, the National Weather Service said.
