Firefighters are still searching for 13-year-old Jesse Hernandez (pictured)

Firefighters are still searching for 13-year-old Jesse Hernandez (pictured)

Firefighters are desperately searching for a 13-year-old boy who fell into a network of underground sewage pipes leading into the Los Angeles River.

Jesse Hernandez, was playing in a maintenance shed when he fell into the drainage system through a 4-foot-wide pipe – sparking a 100-person manhunt, reports KTLA.

More than 20 members of the Hernandez family had been picnicking in Griffith Park, an annual Easter tradition, when the boy went missing.

Crews were called to 5254 West Zoo Drive around 4.30pm on Sunday night.

The teen plunged 25 feet through the roof of the concrete structure into a drainage ditch, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Captain Erik Scott said.

‘One was jumping on top of a wooden plank, perhaps not knowing that it led into a drainage pipe,’ he said.

The boy plunged 25 feet into the network of sewers in the evening of Easter Sunday

The boy plunged 25 feet into the network of sewers in the evening of Easter Sunday

The boy plunged 25 feet into the network of sewers in the evening of Easter Sunday

‘The plank gave, the wood broke, and the kid fell right through it.’

Sewage flowing through the intricate network of pipes carried the boy at 15mph.

Guided by LA Sanitation, rescue teams located ‘potential catch points’ they thought he would eventually pass.

Urban search and rescue teams crawled into the sewage network, searching pipes as far as 1.5 miles from where Hernandez disappeared.

More than 100 emergency personnel were scrambled to numerous 'potential catch points' 

More than 100 emergency personnel were scrambled to numerous 'potential catch points' 

More than 100 emergency personnel were scrambled to numerous ‘potential catch points’ 

LADP Sergeant Bruno La Hoz (pictured) addressed the press as the search continued into the evening

LADP Sergeant Bruno La Hoz (pictured) addressed the press as the search continued into the evening

LADP Sergeant Bruno La Hoz (pictured) addressed the press as the search continued into the evening

More than 100 LAFD firefighters and park rangers were scrambled.

And officials from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and California Highway Patrol arrived soon after, with multiple helicopters hovering overhead.

Officials attached cameras to flotation devices, sending them down tunnels 300 feet ahead of rescue personnel.

A spokesperson for the LAFD said the rescue operation would continue overnight.



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