A boy who had been missing for more than a week has been found in a sewer.

Eight-year-old Joe, who lives in the city of Oldenburg in northwest Germany, disappeared on 17 June from his front garden, sparking a huge police search.

A passer-by heard a soft whimper coming from the direction of a manhole cover in the early hours and called emergency services.

Rescuers rushed to the scene around 200m from his home and found Joe at the bottom of the sewer.

A firefighter entered the sewer to bring him out.

The child was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia, but had no major injuries.

His father told reporters he was “doing well” given the circumstances.

Police shared the news Joe had been found, tweeting: “Eight-year-old Joe lives!”

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Officers are investigating how the child came to be in the sewer and whether he was shut in deliberately.

He could not have lifted the heavy manhole cover on his own, said police spokesman Stephan Klatte.

“It is conceivable that he climbed into the tunnel labyrinth at another point in the branched canal system and crawled through the tubes,” he added.

The entire sewer system is now being examined with cameras.

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