Three headlamp-wearing men dubbed “mole people” were caught on video climbing out of a manhole near Manhattan’s busy Penn Station before dawn, adding to a strange series of underground sightings in New York City.
The TikTok clip shows the trio, dressed in overalls and fitted with headlamps, quickly hoisting themselves from the steaming manhole at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue — only a short walk from the major commuter hub and Madison Square Garden.
The footage of the apparent sewer explorers was recorded shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday, the person who posted the video told NBC News.
The latest sighting follows two similarly unusual caught-on-camera incidents two months ago, when men were seen emerging from manholes in Williamsburg and Gravesend, prompting concern across the city and an NYPD investigation.
A probe by the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection found underground that the bizarre cases appeared to involve people searching the sewer system for valuables that may have accidentally slipped below street level, sources previously told The Post.
New York City’s vast 7,500-mile sewer network has long attracted would-be treasure hunters hoping to recover lost wallets, jewelry or other items that may have fallen through sidewalk grates.
After Tuesday’s incident, inspectors checked the sewers in the area and found no damage to the infrastructure, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection told NBC.
The NYPD is now reviewing the newest video, though no arrests have been made, a department spokesperson told the outlet.
Authorities cautioned that sneaking into manholes was “both illegal and extremely dangerous.”
“Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces,” the statement said, according to the news station. “For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall.”
The NYPD and DEP did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
