Boy feared dead after falling into Los Angeles drain found alive 13 hours later

A 13-year-old boy who fell 7.5 metres into a drain has been found alive and well after a 13-hour search.

Jesse Hernandez spent the night alone, perched on a small ledge in the enclosed sewer system.

The teenager had been celebrating Easter with family at Griffith Park in Los Angeles when he fell into the drain and was swept into the series of interconnecting sewage pipes.

More than 100 volunteers searched throughout the night for the boy, with the discovery made around 5.30am.

“We have found Jesse Hernandez,” LA Fire Captain Erik Scott announced.

“Once we opened up one of these hatches to place another camera into, honestly to our surprise we were able to locate Jesse.”

Rescuers had dropped floating cameras into the drainage system in an effort to find the teenager and handed him a mobile phone to call his parents before pulling him to safety.

The teenager was taken to hospital for assessment and decontamination but is expected to be released this morning.