SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego lifeguards on Tuesday rescued a 16-year-old girl who was buried up to her waist in a six-foot sand hole at Mission Beach, first responders said.
The incident was reported around 4:50 p.m. at 3000 Mission Blvd. near Tower 13, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
SkyFOX/KUSI in the Sky captured lifeguards and bystanders frantically digging to remove the girl who was pinned in the sand with the tide moving in.
“We saw that she was buried up to her neck, we could only see her head and her arms sticking out,” said Lt. Jacob Magness from the San Diego Lifeguards.
The teen’s friends had been digging with no success, so they flagged down lifeguards from 100 yards down the beach and the trench emergency call brought in crews from all over, including bystanders.
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“Since I already had a shovel in my hand, they could see ‘don’t bother that guy, just let him keep digging,’ so I was just digging like crazy,” said Good Samaritan Richard Mastan.
Mastan says he’s never seen anything like this rescue in his life.
“I was so scared for her because she was way down there,” Mastan said.
After 30 minutes of digging, finally rescuers and friends freed the young woman and everyone cheered for the rescue of the young teen and their one collective relief.
Locals say the danger of digging holes adds a new dynamic to the idea of a day at the beach.
“I was worried about the drowning, but apparently you’ve got to be worried about the sand too,” witness Michael Valasquez said.
As the 16-year-old was checked out by paramedics and released to her parents, the admiration for the rescuers efforts lingered on the beach.
“Thank you for all the support that you guys have done for us, and we wish we could be like you guys more often,” witness Noah Gastelum said.
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