Boy, 14, stays alive by sticking his head above the sand while trapped in a hole during Easter weekend beach horror that nearly ended in tragedy
- The boy was standing in a hole when the sand collapsed and nearly suffocated him
- ***Do you know the boy’s parents? Email natasha.anderson@mailonline.com or tips@dailymail.com***
Quick-thinking parents saved their son from being buried alive when a hole he was digging on a beach collapsed below him.
Only the 14-year-old boy’s head was visible after he was trapped neck-deep in the Bank Holiday horror.
The mother and father frantically dug away handfuls of sand to prevent it from blocking the teen’s mouth as he screamed for help. They saved him from choking as 999 workers rushed to the crime scene at Anderby Creek, near Skegness, in Lincolnshire.
Rescue workers said the 14-year-old was standing upright in the hole when it collapsed under his feet at 12.45am on Saturday. Had he been lying, the incident could have ended in tragedy, they said.
The boy saved himself from suffocation as 999 workers ran to the crime scene at Anderby Creek, near Skegness, in Lincolnshire (file photo of the creek)
It took Coast Guard rescue teams and firefighters more than an hour to dig it out, fearing the sand could collapse completely.
Fran Wilkins, HM Coastguard senior coastguard officer, said: ‘What happens when you disturb the sand, there’s a good chance it would collapse again and the priority was to make sure his airway was protected at all times and his head kept up. the sand.
“It took a lot of people to remove the sand so that we could get it out of the hole as quickly and safely as possible.”
“Fortunately, he remained calm the entire time, which certainly helped reduce the panic and allowed everyone to get to work and do their jobs.”
Rescue workers said the 14-year-old was standing upright in the hole when it collapsed under his feet (file photo of the creek)
She praised his parents for keeping the sand out of his mouth and calling for help.
“There’s that instinct to keep digging, but the more you disturb and weaken the collapsed sand, the more likely you are to create a much bigger hole.”
“They kept his head clear and his mouth and nose clear so he could breathe and waited for more help, which was really important to him.”
She warned beachgoers to be mindful of the hole’s size and location, and keep in mind that “the bigger it is, the more likely it is to collapse.”
***Do you know the boy’s parents? Email natasha.anderson@mailonline.com or tips@dailymail.com***
