13-year-old boy rescued from Los Angeles sewer after 12 hours
In a miraculous incident, a 13-year-old boy was rescued on Monday, 12 hours after he fell into Los Angeles' underground sewage system. Jesse Hernandez was playing in a park with other children on wooden planks, which covered an access portal of the sewer system, when a plank broke and he fell 25 feet deep into the fast-moving sewage, reported the Associated Press. Here's more.
It took over 100 people to locate Jesse
Jesse's rescue operation involved over 100 people frantically inspecting about 2,400 feet of underground pipes for 12 hours. Using flotation-device cameras, they finally found him about 11 feet deep into the pipe less than a mile away from where he fell. Images of Jesse's handprints on sewage pipes helped rescuers locate him. The first thing the rescuers reportedly heard from him was 'Help!'
Jesse is 'tired, a bit scraped up, but otherwise OK'
Jesse was rushed to a hospital immediately after he was hosed down and his eyes, nose were cleaned with sterile saline. Upon being rescued, he asked for a cellphone and called his mom. He later told a broadcast channel that "he was tired, a bit scraped up, but otherwise OK". "I was praying to God to help me and to not die," Jesse said.
The odds of Jesse surviving were slim
In accidents like Jesse's, the chances of survival are extremely grim. Complimenting Jesse on his "tremendous inner strength" and congratulating the rescuers who "never gave up hope", Brian Humphrey of the LA Fire Department, told the AP, "The odds of someone falling into such a pipe and surviving are slim. The odds were not in his favour, and many would call it miraculous."
Los Angeles Mayor thanks civic bodies, Jesse's family
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti kept a close watch on the entire situation. In a series of tweets, he kept informing his followers of the updates. Finally, after Jesse's successful rescue, he thanked the many civic bodies who saved Jesse's life for their "incredible work and collaboration" and Jesse's family for their "patience and optimism during this harrowing experience".
