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A 12-year-old girl was rescued after getting trapped in a collapsed sand hole in The Woodlands, Texas on Thursday, Nov. 27
The girl was “covered completely” in the incident until her dad “was able to clear the sand from around her head, allowing her to breathe”
“When crews arrived, they found the patient with just her face and head showing,” The Woodlands Fire Department said in a statement on Facebook
A girl in Texas has a lot to be grateful for after a Thanksgiving accident left her trapped inside a sand hole.
At around 5 p.m. local time on Thursday, Nov. 27, emergency services responded to reports of a 12-year-old “trapped after a cave in” around 30 miles north of Austin, The Woodland Fire Department (WFD) said in a statement on Facebook.
“Firefighters, medics and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies were directed to a sand bar on the West Bank of Panther Creek just south of the pedestrian bridge, where a 12-year-old girl on a family outing was trapped after a large hole she was digging in the sand collapsed,” said the WFD.
The Woodlands Fire Department
The site of the sand hole collapse in The Woodlands, Texas
According to the authorities, the girl was “covered completely” in the incident. Her father “was able to clear the sand from around her head, allowing her to breathe,” before emergency services arrived at the scene.
The WFD, South Montgomery County Fire Department and Montgomery County Hospital District responded to the scene.
“When crews arrived, they found the patient with just her face and head showing,” said the WFD. “Crews worked quickly to shore up the area and then carefully cleared away the sand to extricate the patient.”
The girl was uninjured and released back to her parents following her rescue, according to the WFD. The child has not been identified.
Photos from the incident show first responders surrounding the sand hole while holding shovels as they began digging the area.
The Woodlands Fire Department
Site of the sand hole collapse in The Woodlands, Texas
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Florida International University coastal science professor Stephen P. Leatherman pointed out in a 2024 report the dangers of sand holes collapsing.
“When either the sand forming the hole dries out, or someone stands near the edge of the hole, adding extra weight, the sand hole collapses in, and the heavy grains fill all open spaces in the hole. This leaves no air available for a trapped person to breathe,” he wrote.
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