Two Chinese burglars who sneaked into underground water tunnels to escape from police got lost inside and had to be rescued 8 hours later.

A security guard at a construction lot in Kunming alerted police after discovering five burglars were trying to steal a heavy electric engine at around 2 am.

During the escape, two of them jumped into a nearby river and as the pursuit continued they sneaked into a discharge channel above the river.

"Not long after, we received phone calls from one of the burglars, saying they had got lost, and asking for the police to rescue them," said a spokesman.

Firefighters entered the underground tunnel network from the river entrance wearing gas masks, but retreated because of the complexity of the underground system.

"We then took to plan B, to uncover all the manhole covers on the route. We finally found them after seeing the waves of the wastewater. They were only half conscious," said the chief of the local firefighting team.

The two burglars were treated in hospital for dehydration and the effects of breathing in gas.

Karma is a boomerang!  ;)