A young child has been found clinging for life in a Colombian sewer 24 hours after going missing.

Jeampier Silvera Arteta, three, was reported missing a full day before rescuers searching the sewer system in the city of Barranquilla for a second time found him, nearly totally submerged in a raging water flow.

A major search operation was launched after the youngster vanished whilst playing with his brothers on a building site. It was suspected he had fallen down a drainage hole.

Police and ambulance workers searched the entire neighbourhood, until Jeampier was eventually found. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.