An Australian man, 25-year-old Josh Taylor, is currently in critical condition at the hospital after being engulfed by sand on a popular beach. The incident unfolded on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, where Mr. Taylor accidentally fell into a hole and was buried beneath the sand. Emergency services, including paramedics and a rescue helicopter crew from RACQ Life Flight, were promptly summoned to the scene to provide assistance.
A witness named Nathan shared with 7News that Mr. Taylor inadvertently stepped into a pit that had been dug for cooking a pig. “He stood up off the chair; the sand had given away a little bit underneath him,” Nathan recounted. “He stumbled back. He’d put his arms out to obviously break the fall, he’s continued going down and knocked sand as he’s put his arms out.”
The pit was so deep that his feet were completely obscured, making him invisible unless you were standing directly on top of the hole.
Nathan described the herculean task of trying to free Mr. Taylor from the pit. “There were 15 fully grown men on the end of this rope, and he still would not budge.”
“That’s when the paramedic said, ‘Pull him this way,’ and miraculously, the suction gave way, and he popped out.
“I’m fervently hoping that he pulls through this.”
Nathan added that as he was leaving the beach, a group of men approached him urgently, shouting for assistance to rescue their friend trapped under the sand. Upon reaching the site, he found Mr. Taylor’s friends and family frantically digging in a desperate attempt to free him.
“I noticed someone was buried headfirst in a hole, and I just kept digging, digging, digging…” he remarked.
“When I approached the hole initially, I couldn’t even spot his foot. That’s how profound it was,” he continued.
“His entire family was yelling at us, urging us to assist, demanding a rope to pull him out. It was quite distressing,” he shared.
After several minutes of strenuous efforts, the man eventually emerged from the sand, but the forceful extraction resulted in additional injuries.
“It was quite intense when he surfaced. I felt nauseous,” recounted Nathan.
“He sustained injuries. The suction, the collective force of everyone pulling.”
Upon extraction, Mr. Taylor was found without a pulse, prompting rangers to initiate CPR until the paramedics arrived.
Mr. Taylor was swiftly airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital in critical condition for further medical attention.
Reports indicate that it took 45 minutes before the man’s pulse was successfully restored.
QAS Paramedic Peter Batt commended the individuals who assisted in the rescue.
“The fact that they managed to restore a pulse in this young man after an extended period of CPR is indicative of the effective CPR performed; it’s a commendation to those who intervened and provided first aid,” he acknowledged.
Currently, medical professionals are dedicatedly working to save the man’s life.