The police in the US city of Boston have captured alive the second man suspected of carrying out bomb attacks on the Boston marathon.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19 year ethnic Chechen was taken into custody in a suburb of the city.

Gunfire and explosions were heard as he was found hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown. He had escaped on foot yesterday after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother.

Three people died and more than 170 were injured in Monday's bombings. Boston Police Department tweeted that the hunt is over.

A law enforcement official told a news agency that the suspect was covered in blood.