Boy Trapped In Sand Rescued Alive After 3 Hours

A young boy trapped under sand was rescued alive after more than four hours. The incident happened at a national park near Michigan City, Indiana.

Rescue crews were initially called to the scene at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan just after 4 pm local time. Spokesman for the National Park Service Bruce Rowe explained that the boy’s family saw him in a hole near Mount Baldy as it collapsed in on him.

The hole was in the sand and was between eight and 10 feet deep at the time of the collapse, according to NBC News. The six-year-old boy was rescued with the help of local police, rescue crews, and two private excavating companies. After digging for about four hours, the boy was discovered under around 11 feet of sand.

Rowe added that the area where the boy fell was off limits to the public at the time. Michigan City Fire Chief Ronnie Martin told ABC News that the boy was walking with his parents when he found a rotted tree that could have been responsible for creating a kind of sinkhole in the sand dune.

Local first responders arrived on the scene about 15 minutes after it happened, including medical personnel, the Michigan City Fire Department, and Michigan City police.

Martin added that rescuers called in heavy equipment when the hole became larger during the initial digging attempt. The boy’s family was moved from the scene of the incident to the beach around 6 pm as rescuers continued to look for the boy trapped under sand.

Around 8 pm, rescuers found a soft spot or pocket in the sand and saw the six-year-old boy’s head. Rescuers lifted him out at about 8:05 pm local time. From there, the boy was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Michigan City, Michigan, but was airlifted to another hospital in the Chicago area soon after.

After the incident involving the boy trapped in sand, authorities announced that Mt. Baldy Park will be closed for the remainder of the weekend.

[Image by Lori McCallister via Wikimedia Commons]