According to police, five young boys became trapped in a sewer system on Staten Island in New York City on Tuesday, March 21, and a search and rescue operation was launched after the kids dialed 911 from one cell phone they were carrying.
The five children were discovered after spending about an hour trapped in Staten Island’s sewer tunnels, according to the New York Fire Department (FDNY). The sewer was pitch black, and the kids provided light using the phone’s flashlight.
According to Fire Chief John Hodgens, it took the kids at least 15 minutes of crawling around inside before they realized they were lost.
The FDNY audio-recorded the boys’ 911 call, in which they explained how they got into the storm drain, and the recording was made public.
In the recording, the dispatcher can be heard attempting to locate them. One of the kids explained that they got stuck in the sewer after passing through a tunnel. The conversation lasted more than 30 minutes.
The boys claimed they entered the tunnel via a nearby entrance. A cemetery and the Staten Island Zoo are nearby.
Distant sirens could be heard several minutes after the call. The dispatcher instructed the children to scream as loudly as they could so that the officers would hear them and respond.
When the children screamed for help, firefighters discovered the tunnel’s entrance and sent a rescuer inside to look for them.
The worker had to crawl because the space was small. Other rescuers were able to enter the sewer through maintenance holes.
One child, who had minor leg injuries, was discovered some distance away from his four friends.
The children were taken to the hospital and later released, as was a wounded firefighter.