A 5-year-old Chinese boy somehow got his head stuck inside a water pipe, forcing firefighters to gently cut him out of the thick plastic tube.

He suffered a swollen jaw and bruised ego during his 90-minute rescue in the eastern city of Fenghua on Monday.

Firefighters first used pliers to cut some of the pipe, but soon realized they needed heavier equipment — in this case, an electric grinder to cut through the PVC and eventually free the trapped boy.

Fenghua’s Bravest did their best to dry the tears the nervous boy was shedding during the operation.

“Don’t cry, don’t be afraid,” they told him.