Excitement unravels during excavation. - Ten-Year-Old Buried on Wangerooge Island
A distressing incident occurred on the beach of Wangerooge, a small island with a population of around 1300, along the North Sea. On a Tuesday afternoon during Ascension Day, a group of boys decided to dig deep holes in the moist sand next to the eastern edge of the beach. They intended to create a tunnel connecting both holes, which were expected to be around 1.50 meters deep. However, the tunnel caved in, trapping one of the young boys (10 years old) underneath.
Island police officer Holger Lackner provided insight into the incident, stating that according to earlier findings, the two brothers, aged 10 and 13, created two holes on the beach and attempted to connect them with a tunnel.
Heroism at the beach
In response to the emergency, various rescue personnel hurried to the site and began frantically digging through the sand with their hands and carefully using shovels. The local volunteer fire department arrived at the scene within minutes, while others biked over to the location on the car-free island, transforming them into local heroes.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the rescue mission lasted over 20 minutes. The boys had inhaled and swallowed considerable amounts of sand. They desperately needed resuscitation, which was carried out on the spot by a doctor who had rushed to the scene. The rescue helicopter, "Christoph 26," transported the young visitor to a hospital in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. Details regarding his current condition remain unclear. However, it is evident that the prompt and bold actions of the rescue workers prevented this accident from turning out fatally.
Heroes from the DLRG. It appears that the boy had ingested an excessive amount of sand. The excavation process reportedly took almost half an hour, making it crucial to exercise caution when digging with shovels to avoid injuring the child.
A repetitive occurrence: accidents while building sandcastles
Wangerooge is the easternmost island in the East Frisian archipelago and attracts over 100,000 annual visitors. Each year, as well as on all German coasts, the beach wardens caution against digging extremely deep holes on the beach. Regardless of these warnings, severe accidents like this continue to occur. For instance, in 2012, a ten-year-old boy met his demise at the hands of the suffocating sand masses on Amrum after being buried.
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Source: symclub.org
