Mother, Son Rescued From Sand Collapse On Nauset Beach
ORLEANS (CBS) - There was a scare at Nauset Beach Friday afternoon when a mother and her teenage son became trapped under the sand after digging a hole. It happened in a remote part of the beach in the overland area where people drive their cars onto the sand.
Orleans Fire Chief Geof Deering said firefighters and seasonal EMTs stationed at the beach were called in to help.
"The entire hole was about six feet deep and the male was sitting in the bottom of it when the sand collapsed and trapped him and also trapped the woman," Deering said.
The teen was buried up to his mid torso and his mother was up to her waist.
"It's a very delicate process when it comes to sand," Deering said. "We have to do it very carefully so it doesn't continue to collapse on those people."
It took the 11-person crew about 20 minutes to dig them out.
"Today we were very lucky that these two people were not injured seriously and we were able to get to them quickly and remove them," Deering said. "But it highlights something that is very innocent. Digging in the sand, playing on the beach is a pretty innocent thing, but really it can turn very dangerous very quickly."
Deering warned beachgoers never to dig holes beyond the height of the knees of the smallest person in the group.