2 women forcefully rescued from inside Enbridge pipeline

Two women were rescued after climbing into the Enbridge pipeline in Aitkin County at the Willow River crossing on Sunday.

The Northern Lights Task Force identified the two as 21-year-old Amory Lei Zhou-Kourvo, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and 20-year-old Madeline Olivia Bayzaee, of Northfield.

The pipe, which was capped at one end, was nearly 130 degrees with reduced oxygen levels, according to the task force. The women brought respirators with them inside the pipeline and refused to leave.

A firefighter first went in to try to get the women to leave the pipeline voluntarily but had to leave due to limited oxygen in his tank, the press release stated. An officer then entered to further attempt to get the women to leave peacefully, and one of the women said they had just over three minutes left in their respirators but still refused to leave.

The officer then used rope to rig all of them so the exterior crew could pull them all out safely, the task force said.

After they were out, both women were treated for abrasions as well as oxygen and heat-related issues, the task force stated. They were then taken into custody and booked into the Aitkin County Adult Detention Center.