A 13-year-old boy has been rescued from a Welsh beach – after he was nearly ‘buried alive’ by sand.
Lifeguards used children’s spades to help release him.
The boy had become trapped after a huge hole he was digging at Dolwen Beach in Aberport, caved in.
Witnesses heard him screaming for help as he fell down further into the sand.
He was found trapped up to his neck when the alarm was raised.
Coastguards and a fire crew were called and raced to the scene.
Lifeguards Menna Phillips and Will Brice were then helped by members of the public who used beach spades battled to free the terrified schoolboy.
One witness said: ‘Menna and Will were down by the water’s edge when someone shouted someone was stuck in a hole at the top of the beach.
‘Menna assumed someone had broken a leg or something, but when she got there all she could see of the lad was the top of his head and eyes.’
Another onlooker said: ‘The more they tried to reach him the more sand fell in on top of him – it was a very, very scary situation.
‘I saw some holidaymakers trying to free the boy with beach spades – it was a fantastic response from both the lifeguards and the public.
‘The boy was very lucky the incident didn’t happen in the evening when the beach would have been deserted.’
Local councillor, Gethin Davies, lives near the beach.
He said the incident, which took place yesterday afternoon, could be seen as a warning to all parents.
‘People don’t really appreciate the dangers of digging large holes in sand,’ he said.
‘There have been fatalities in the past.
‘This was a narrow escape, make no mistake – I was told that when the alarm was raised only the tips of the boy’s fingers could be seen above the sand.’
An RNLI spokesperson said the lifeguards who rescued the boy had ‘carefully’ dug around him.
She said: ‘One of the lifeguards grabbed a trauma bag while the second went to assess the situation.
‘Arriving with the casualty, the lifeguards observed that the boy was in the hole where the sand had collapsed on him covering most of his body.
‘One of the lifeguards proceeded to help members of the public carefully dig the sand away before getting a rescue tube down to the casualty in the event it was needed.
‘After 20 minutes, the casualty was freed from the hole where he was then assessed by the lifeguards before being handed over into the care of paramedics.’
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