A Thanksgiving outing for a Texas family came close to tragedy after a 12-year-old girl became trapped in a sand hole that caved in around her.
First responders were called to the Spring Creek trail in The Woodlands, a northern suburb of Houston, around 5 p.m. Thursday to a report of a child trapped under sand, Woodlands Fire Department said.
The young girl was on a family outing when she became trapped after “a large hole she was digging in the sand collapsed, covering her completely,” the department said.
Her father sprang into action and quickly cleared the sand from around her head, allowing her to breathe while they waited for rescue crews to get her out of the collapsed hole.
“When crews arrived, they found the patient with just her face and head showing,” the fire department added.
“Crews worked quickly to shore up the area and then carefully cleared away the sand to extricate the patient.”
The girl was then evaluated by medics before she was released to her parents. Her parents declined transport to the hospital, the department said, without specifying whether she needed further medical treatment.
“First responders from four agencies worker together seamlessly to turn a near tragedy into a Thanksgiving story that will be told for decades!” the fire department added.
The department did not identify the little girl who was trapped.
Collapsed sand holes have proven deadly for beachgoers in the past. Last year, a seven-year-old Indiana girl died after falling in a collapsed sand hole while on vacation with her family in Florida.
The girl had been digging a hole at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s beach with her nine-year-old brother when the sand collapsed, opening into a five-foot hole. Maddox was buried up to his chest, while his younger sister was completely submerged.
Rescuers arrived in minutes as bystanders attempted to dig the children out. She was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Three years ago, an 18-year-old died after he and his 17-year-old sister were trapped in a sand collapse at a beach in Ocean County, New Jersey. His sister was rescued by the police.
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