'A city underground': Woman rescued from sewer in LA may have been living underground

Firefighters rescue woman from manhole

Firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped inside a deep hole in the Harbor Gateway area.

LOS ANGELES - A woman who was rescued from a manhole, may have been living in the sewer. 

Community members say thousands of homeless living in LA are seeking shelter underground.

"Those are the ones people make into a complete living room. They’ll have TV, electricity because they’ll connect to what’s down there. There are plugs. It’s a city underground, that’s what it is," said Dave Matthews, a volunteer with the Harbor Gateway Chamber of Commerce. 

On the corner of Normandy and 190th in Harbor Gateway, just off the 405 Freeway, city workers covered a storm drain after a 39-year-old woman fell 20 feet down.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman rescued after falling into manhole in Harbor Gateway area

The woman told firefighters she had been screaming in agony for an entire day before a Walmart employee heard her cries and called 911.

Elexia Bittle, who is experiencing homelessness herself, said the manhole has been uncovered for far too long.

"Yeah, for a couple of years. That’s exactly why I thought they’d fix it sooner, because it’s a matter of time before someone does. It’s a very far drop. It’s really scary looking down into it even from up here," Bittle said. 

Firefighters say the woman, who was rushed to the ER, was living down here and they believe homeless people recycled the metal lid for money.

Matthews said this is something he sees everyday.

"We just got notified last week of three manholes [lids] that came in and the recycler didn’t accept it. The lids and the grids because it's money, anything metal is money."