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(CNN) According to the New York City Fire Department, five mischievous boys had to be rescued after crawling into a tunnel from the Staten Island sewer system, going deep into it, and missing on Tuesday.
FDNY received an emergency call about children trapped in sewers around 6 p.m. Tuesday. Director John Hodgens said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Edit 911 Audio released by FDNY Captures part of the interaction between dispatcher and child. In one exchange, the dispatcher asked for an address.
“I don’t know,” replied a boyish voice.
“Don’t you know?” said the dispatcher.
“We’re like… stuck in a sewer,” said the kid.
“Where are you stuck?” the dispatcher asked.
“In the sewers,” said the child.
According to FDNY, fire alarm dispatcher Marlind Haxiariu said he questioned the children to narrow down where the boys had entered the sewage system. I placed the pack at the entrance. Tunnels leading to sewers under Clove Lakes Park.
Authorities determined the children had crawled through a tunnel into the sewage system and traveled another 400 meters, Mr Hodgens said.
FDNY Lt. John Drew said the tunnel opening was 40 inches, but later shrunk to about 30 inches, making navigation difficult.
Firefighters entered the tunnel with ropes and breathing apparatus, FDNY Deputy Chief Joe Harris said.
“It was a tight space. Members had to crouch and then crawl,” he said.
The dispatcher also asked one of the boys to guide them. “Where was the sewer left, right, straight after you got off? You need to show me around,” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes,” replied the child.
“To the right. How far did you walk?” said the dispatcher.
“We like… yeah, we walked a lot,” he replied.
From there, firefighters moved along sewer trails to find the children.
“We walked a route that we knew had sewers and opened manhole covers in search of children,” Hodgens said.
Firefighters opened an overhead manhole cover and found the children, who were urged by dispatchers to shout for help. Shortly after this, responding forces located and rescued the children, according to FDNY.
The boys were safely rescued about 30 minutes after paramedics responded. Hodgens said they were rescued after spending about an hour in the sewage system.
Firefighter John Ronecker said he was “relieved” that the boys were rescued and out of the cold, wet, dark tunnel.
“They were on their knees for about an hour,” he said. “It was dark out there. There was just one cell phone light.”
All five children were taken to Richmond Medical Center for evaluation. One firefighter was slightly injured during the rescue.
“I’m glad we all worked together to save these five children,” said Haxhialiu.
CNN’s Zenebou Sylla contributed to this report.
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