Boys Rescued From Pipe Are in Fair Condition

Three young boys who were rescued from a slimy drainage pipe where they had been overcome by noxious fumes were reported in fair condition Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, a hospital spokesman said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies formed a human chain to rescue the boys, ages 9, 10 and 11, from a 3-foot-wide pipe on a vacant lot near Canwood Street and Lake Crest Drive shortly after 9 p.m. Friday.

Deputies were searching for the boys, who had been reported missing for three hours by a parent.

A playmate led police to the drain where the boys had been playing. Deputy Robert Sonnemann lowered himself into the steeply angled pipe and found the boys about 30 feet in, apparently unconscious.

While deputies were pulling out Sonnemann, holding one of the boys, the rope broke.

Deputies Kenneth Valentini, Shane Quartararo and Michael Velek then crawled in to pull them out.

Then the deputies lowered a firefighter carrying breathing equipment, who rescued the other boys.

Officials found turpentine, acetone, paint thinner, paint remover and lighter fluid in the pipe. Authorities weren’t sure where the hazardous materials came from.

Authorities refused to release the boys’ names.

The deputies, also affected by the fumes, were examined at two local hospitals and released.

Sonnemann works at the Van Nuys courthouse but was on a volunteer sheriff’s ride-along to gain experience before transferring to a patrol station, sheriff’s officials said.