A BALLARAT man was assisting police with "ongoing inquiries" after they pulled him from a 15-metre deep well on Friday.
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It remains unclear how the 25-year-old became trapped in the well on his Wattle Flat property, with police quashing reports he fled down the muddy drop after they arrived about 9am as part of an investigation.
Ballarat police Inspector Greg Payne said police arrived at the property in Bush Inn road about 9am and heard the man's cries for help.
Inspector Payne said it was unknown how long the man had been trapped, adding he told police he'd entered the well before dawn.
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"He was just letting people know that he was down the well and trying to get attention. His partner was in the house so she wasn't able to hear him so it was just fortunate we'd attended and were able to safely extract him," Inspector Payne said.
"He wasn't able to get out of the well so we've organised to rescue him through the CFA from the City of Ballarat rescue team and the search and rescue from Melbourne."
Detectives from Ballarat's Criminal Investigation Unit were seen removing several items, including power tools, from the well after the man was freed.
Inspector Payne said police were still "making inquiries" about the items removed.
They included a range of Makita power tools.
Inspector Payne said the effort to free the man was made harder by deep mud at the bottom of the well.
"It was difficult because of the depth of the well. There's probably about two feet of mud at the bottom so what we've had to do is make sure that it was safe to get down there while he was trying to get out himself," he said.
The Inspector said the man was "very grateful" to see police once freed.
"The main thing is he's safe," he said.
The owner of the rental property arrived on scene about 12pm Friday and went straight to a nearby shed.
She said the man, who she referred to as Mitch, had been renting the house for about three years.
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