On Tuesday, March 21, five young boys got stuck in a sewer system on Staten Island in New York City, according to the police, who claimed that a search and rescue operation was started after the kids dialed 911.

According to the New York Fire Department (FDNY), the five kids, aged 11-12, were found after spending about an hour trapped in Staten Island’s sewer tunnels. The sewer was dark and the kids only had one cell phone, which provided light.

Fire Chief John Hodgens claims that it took the youngsters at least 15 minutes of crawling around inside before they realized they were stranded and lost.

The FDNY audio-recorded the boys’ 911 call, in which they explained how they got into the storm drain, and made the audio available to the public.

The dispatcher can be heard attempting to ascertain their location in the recording. One of the children explained that they had become trapped in the sewer after passing through a tunnel. The call lasted more than 30 minutes.

The boys claimed to have entered a tunnel through a nearby entrance in the vicinity of a cemetery and the Staten Island Zoo.

Several minutes after the call, distant sirens could be heard. The dispatcher told the kids to scream as loud as they could so the officers would hear them and come running.

When the kids screamed for assistance, firefighters finally located the tunnel’s entrance, and a rescuer went inside to look for them.

The space was so small that the worker had to crawl. Through maintenance holes, other rescuers were able to enter the sewer.

One child, who had minor leg injuries, was found some distance away from his other four companions.

The kids were taken to a hospital and later released, along with an injured firefighter.