Five children were saved after they got "lost" in the sewer system.

The New York City Fire Department dispatcher received a call this week from the sewers.

Fire Alarm Dispatcher Moises Arians responded to a call from Staten Island around 6pm Tuesday. Arias called to inquire about the location of the emergency and a child answered the phone, "We don’t know." We are, like, stuck in the sewers."

"Where are you stuck?" The dispatcher was clearly shocked and the child repeated, "In the sewers." One of the five boys replied, "It's like tunnel where all the pipes are."

They explained to the children that they ended up underground after traversing a tunnel close to a cemetery, zoo, and Clove lakes. They also said that they had "walked a lot" to get to their current location before they could hear the police sirens. The dispatcher instructed the children to shout for help and assured them that help was on the way. The first responders saw the situation and quickly pulled the children to safety.

Authorities revealed that the call with the dispatcher took about half an hour and that the children had been trapped in the tunnel for "about an hour". They stated that they believed the children became "disoriented" upon entering the system and it was "amazing" that their phone service was available.

"We received a call from a manhole for children. They were able to get in because the water level was low. "They got lost in this sewer network," FDNY Deputy Chief Joe Harris stated in a release.

"The dispatchers were able get crucial information from the children regarding where they entered." Rescue 5 started their search for them by finding their belongings at the entry.

Harris stated that it was a tight space and required responding officers "crouch down, then crawl" to access. Harris also said that other manholes were opened along the street for additional access points. "A member of Ladder 79 opened the manhole and found four children. He added that another child was farther down the line and had an injured leg. The children had "traveled approximately a quarter mile" before they were found.

Arias thanked Marlind Haxhialiu, a coworker, for jumping on the call. He was more familiar in the area and was able name landmarks that helped them locate their location.

"We told them that they should start calling for help. Haxhialiu said that she tried to calmly reassure them and keep them calm. "They were extremely frantic when I spoke with them," Haxhialiu said. Based on my knowledge of the area, I was asking them questions to narrow down the exact location they had entered. I was able pinpoint the location where they had entered.

He concluded, "I'm glad that everyone was able work together to save these five children,"

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Title: Hear 'Frantic' 9-1-1 Call from Kids 'Stuck In the Sewers' In NYC: 'You're Stuck Where?!'
Sourced From: toofab.com/2023/03/23/lost-kids-make-frantic-911-call-from-the-sewers/
Published Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:13:14 +0000

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