THIS is the terrifying moment two children get trapped in a sinkhole as they’re heard shouting “get the lifeguard”.
The boys were digging a hole in Newport beach in Southern California when the rising tide left them submerged.
The boys were left trapped in the sinkhole at Newport beachx.com
A dramatic rescue was caught on videox.com
x.comThe boys were eventually released after a desperate scramble[/caption]
As the water surged into their pit, they became stuck waist-deep in the sand.
Their panicked parents tried to dig them out while shouting for help.
The video, which has amassed more than 20 million views, shows beachgoers frantically digging with their hands and beach buckets as one of the boys is heard crying “get the lifeguard!”
Lifeguards rushed to their aid as a group attempted to pull the boys from the wet sand.
One official is seen jumping into the hole as he to tries and pull the children from the collapsed pit.
While another appears to build a makeshift dam to redirect the surging water.
After several tense minutes, the boys were finally released.
According to lifeguard Mark Herman, incidents like these are more common than people think as even shallow holes can collapse.
While sand may appear stable, once water saturates it it’s prone to caving in, he said.
He told Fox 11: “Once that sand gets wet it gets heavy. It basically buried them from their waist down. They couldn’t get themselves out.”
He added: “Luckily, these kids, the rest of their body was above [the sand]
“But, when [kids are] tunnelling, or if they’ve gone too far down and the sand caves in above them, that’s when it can get pretty dangerous.
“It’s a reminder that the beach is beautiful, but it can be dangerous.
“Even shallow holes can collapse with little warning. And when the tide is rising, seconds matter.
“We’re enjoying ourselves. But safety is always our most priority.”
Fellow beachgoer Brittney Hood, said she was left shaken by the incident, which happened in August.
She said: “I couldn’t imagine a hole collapsing on a child. I’m so glad they’re okay.”
The two boys posed for a picture after their releasex.com
x.comThe water filled the hole leaving them stuck in the sand[/caption]
x.comBeachgoers rushed to their aid[/caption]
It comes just weeks after Riccardo Boni, 17, died after being buried alive in a sand tunnel he built on a beach in the north of Rome.
He was at the beach with his family when his five-year-old brother notice he had disappeared under the sand.
After a frantic 40 minute search lifeguards and officials tragically recovered the boy’s lifeless body.
Officials warned digging holes in the sand – however small – could be very dangerousx.com
x.comLifeguards said incidents like these are common[/caption]