A pensioner was injured in Nalchik after falling into an open manhole.

Investigators and the prosecutor's office in Kabardino-Balkaria have launched an investigation into the actions of utility workers after a 70-year-old woman fell into a manhole on Pushkin Street in Nalchik. The elderly woman was hospitalized with fractures.

The incident occurred on the evening of March 5. The elderly woman, walking down the street, fell into an open manhole.

The victim could not have noticed the manhole without a cover because it was covered with debris, according to the republic's Investigative Committee. "All circumstances of the incident are being established, and the actions of those responsible will be legally assessed," the agency's official Telegram channel reported.

The republic's prosecutor's office, in turn, noted that it will evaluate the actions of officials responsible for the state of utility infrastructure and timely cleanup of the area. "The hatch was open and littered with household waste, making it visually invisible to pedestrians," the department also noted.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim suffered several open fractures, the Gor Mash Telegram channel reported.

The woman was helped out of the hatch by emergency services personnel, who were called by a passing schoolboy. "I was walking from the emergency services, and there was a woman walking in front of me. At one point, I saw her literally fall into the ground in a split second. At first, I couldn't believe my eyes, but when I got closer, I heard her quiet but audible voice and immediately dialed 911," Sapa Kavkaz quotes the teenager as saying.