Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 3 april 2018

'Miraculous': Teen survives 12

hours in Los Angeles sewage

By AMANDA LEE MYERS Jesse Hernandez had been for the Los Angeles Fire De-
Associated Press playing with other children partment.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A on wooden planks over an The other children imme-
13-year-old boy was mirac- access portal to the sewer diately notified adults,
ulously rescued Monday af- system during a family out- who called 911, initiating a
ter falling into a river of sew- ing Sunday at a Los Angeles frantic and exhaustive 12-
age in Los Angeles, getting park. When a plank broke, hour search of labyrinthine
swept away and spending Jesse fell about 25 feet (8 underground pipes using
more than 12 hours in the meters) and landed in fast- cameras propped on flota- This photo from video provided by the Los Angeles Fire Depart-
city's toxic and mazelike moving sewage, said Brian tion devices. ment shows firefighters dropping a video camera down a large
underground sewer system. Humphrey, a spokesman Rescuers finally found Jes- hole next to where a 13-year-old boy fell through through the
small hole at right into a river of sewage in the Griffith Park area
of Los Angeles.
Associated Press

se after seeing images of se's, rescuers say the likeli-
handprints on a sewage hood of someone being
pipe. A sanitation crew found safe diminishes by
rushed to the area and the hour.
opened a manhole. "They never gave up hope,"
"The first thing they heard Hagekhalil said. "They want-
was 'Help!'" said Adel ed to bring Jesse back to
Hagekhalil, assistant gen- his family."
eral manager of the sanita- About 2,400 feet (731 me-
tion department. ters) of pipe had been in-
The crew lowered down spected when rescuers
a hose to Jesse, who was found Jesse less than a
about 11 feet (3 meters) mile from where he disap-
deep in the pipe. peared. He was taken to a
"He caught onto the hose hospital for a full evaluation
and was reeled back up," and to be reunited with his
Hagekhalil said. family.
Rescuers gave him imme- In addition to the mas-
diate medical attention, sive rescue effort involv-
including hosing him down ing more than 100 people,
to get rid of the sewage Humphrey credited Jesse
and cleaning out his eyes for his survival. Not only did
and nose with sterile saline, he survive getting swept
Humphrey said. through sewage moving at
Jesse immediately asked 15 mph (24 kph), he man-
for a cellphone to call his aged to find a pocket of
family. A worker handed breathable air and hang
him a phone, and he called on until he was found, au-
his mom. thorities said.
"He was happy, the fam- "Any subterranean loca-
ily was happy," said tion, particularly one that
Hagekhalil, adding that involves waste, can pro-
rescuers were thrilled at the duce toxic gases — meth-
outcome. ane, hydrogen sulfide — so
Video released by the city breathable air is a key ele-
later in the day showed ment," Humphrey said. "The
long dark marks on the odds of someone falling
sides of the dank sewage into such a pipe and surviv-
pipe, which was about 4 ing are slim. The odds were
feet (1 meter) in diameter, not in his favor, and many
where Jesse's fingers would would call it miraculous."
have slid. He called Jesse "a resolute
After an accident like Jes- young man."q