A young man left fighting for life after he was buried alive in sand on Bribie Island fell into a hole which had been dug to cook a pig, it can be revealed.
Queensland Paramedics and an RACQ LifeFlight rescue helicopter crew were called to help Josh Taylor, 25, after he fell into a hole and was buried in sand on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, just before 2pm on Saturday.
Paramedics spent two hours at the scene trying to revive Mr Taylor, who was without a pulse for 45 minutes.
He remains in critical condition.
Witness Nathan, who was among those who helped dig Mr Taylor out told Seven News that the 1.5metre hole had been dug so a pig could be cooked under the sand.
‘He stood up off the chair, the sand had given away a little bit underneath him,’ he said.
Josh Taylor (right) is now fighting for life, fell into a hole that had been dug to cook a pig
Paramedics and friends worked desperately to free him. Photo: 7News
‘He stumbled back. He’d put his arms out to obviously to break the fall, he’s continued going down and knocked sand as he’s put his arms out.
‘He was that deep in the hole that you could not see him, his feet, unless you were standing on top of the hole.’
Onlookers rushed to Mr Taylor’s aide, digging him out before tying a rope to his feet to pull him from the hole.
‘There were 15 fully grown men on the end of this rope and he still would not budge,’ Nathan recalled.
‘That’s when the paramedic was like pull him this way .. . the suction gave way and he popped out.
‘I’m praying that he pulls through this.’
Mr Taylor’s family are by his side at the Princess Alexandra hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition, The Courier Mail reported.
Nathan was leaving the beach with his family when a group of men ran over yelling for help to rescue their friend from under the sand, he told NCA NewsWire.
When he arrived at the scene, the 25-year-old’s family and friends were desperately digging to to get him out.
Josh Taylor’s family remain by his side at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital
Josh was buried underneath the sand for an extended period of time. Picture: Nine News
‘I realised someone was head first in a hole and I was just digging digging digging…’ he said.
‘When I first went up to the hole, I couldn’t even see his foot. That’s how deep it was,’ he said.
There were more than 15 people digging in the sand to get the man out before paramedics and rangers arrived.
‘All of his family, were screaming at us, telling us to help, telling us to get rope so we could pull him out. It was pretty gruesome,’ he said.
‘There were like 15 men on the rope pulling and he did not budge.’
After some time of pulling and digging, the young man finally burst through the surface of the sand, but the force of being pulled out caused him further injury, Nathan said.
‘It was pretty gnarly when he popped out. I threw up,’ Nathan said.
‘He broke. The suction, the force, of everyone pulling.’
When they got him out, the man did not have a pulse and rangers began performing CPR.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman confirmed the man was flown to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition. Picture RACQ LifeFlight
Rangers in the area also applied a defibrillator before the arrival of paramedics.
A helicopter pilot landed on the beach to deliver the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Critical Care Doctor and flight paramedic as close to the scene as possible.
The rescue crew then flew the man to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition for further treatment.
It is understood it took 45 minutes before the man’s pulse returned.
QAS Paramedic Peter Batt praised the actions of the people who helped out.
‘The fact that they have got a return of pulse on this young man after an extended period of CPR, is evidence that good CPR was being done, it’s a credit to those people who got in and helped with their first aid,’ he said.
Bribie Island, part of Queensland’s Moreton Bay region, is a popular holiday destination.
The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew was called to the remote beach scene. Picture RACQ LifeFlight
QAS paramedic Peter Batt praised the work of the people who rendered first aid. Picture: Nine News