A 12-YEAR-OLD boy in the US has survived a near-drowning when his leg became stuck in an underwater suction pipe, trapping him for more than nine minutes.

Dramatic CCTV footage from March 19 at the Avista Resort’s “lazy river” pool in California was released today and shows the moment two friends playing turns to panic.

The pair can be seen taking turns diving underwater and eventually removing the safety grate covering the suction pump.

The boy above water calls for help when he realises his friend is stuck.

Several adults then try and free him.

Only after the arrival of two police officers do they finally manage to get him out of the water to immediately start performing CPR.

During the nine minutes and 18 seconds the boy remained trapped underwater, one man continued to dive in, performing mouth-to-mouth, virtually breathing for him and keeping him alive.

Police said the boy was alive, but did not reveal any further details about his condition.