Boy aged 13 saved after 12 hours stuck down drain

A 13-YeAR- OLd boy has been rescued after spending more than 12 hours trapped down a drain in Los Angeles.

Jesse hernandez said he was praying to God for help after falling down a manhole into the city’s maze-like sewer system.

he was only found after rescuers sent cameras down and found his handprints on the side of the drains.

A sanitation crew lowered a hose to Jesse, who was stuck about 11 feet down.

Rescuers immediately hosed him down and cleaned out his eyes and nose with sterile saline, said Brian humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire department.

Jesse told KnBc-TV that he was tired but otherwise fine. ‘I was praying to God to help me and to not die,’ he said.

‘It was all quiet. You could just hear the water running through and you couldn’t see anything. It was dark.’

About 2,400ft of pipework had been inspected when rescuers found Jesse less than a mile from where he disappeared. he was taken to a hospital for a full check-up and to be reunited with his family on Monday morning.

Mr humphrey added: ‘The odds of someone falling into such a pipe and surviving are slim. Many would call it miraculous.’