they climbed up there to take a walk

On March 21, a group of five adventurous 11- and 12-year-old boys found themselves in trouble after climbing into a storm sewer tunnel at the Staten Island Zoo for fun. As a result, the group got stuck in the sewers, writes Fox News.

Trying to find a way out, the children crawled through the pipes for more than a quarter of a mile (450 meters) under the roadway and parking lot of the Staten Island Zoo, passing several manhole covers.

When the teenagers got completely lost and realized that they could not find a way out, one of them called 911.

“What is the address in Staten Island?” the dispatcher asked first.

“We don’t know… we’re stuck in the sewers,” the boy replied.

With obvious disbelief in his voice, the dispatcher asked again: “Where are you stuck?”

“In the sewers,” he repeated.

The boy explained that they “walked a lot” and went through the cemetery before crawling into the pipes.

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The boys descended into the storm sewer and crawled along it for 15 minutes, officials said. The dispatcher, well-versed in the area, quickly determined that the children’s entry point into the sewers was in the Clove Lakes Park area.

The boys were asked to yell to help rescuers pinpoint their exact location.

Lifeguard John Lönnecker said his team found children’s backpacks and jackets near the suspected entry point into the pipes, confirming the teens’ whereabouts.

Rescuers began to open hatches along the path of the children’s advance in order to find them. Soon they heard their cries for help.

Rescuers used gas masks and oxygen tanks to enter the narrow passage that the boys had used. The entrance was approximately 40 inches (about 1 m) wide and then narrowed to 30 inches (76 cm) at the point where the children were found.

All five children were rescued and taken to the University of Richmond Medical Center in West Brighton for examination.