Man buried on Fistral Beach 'very lucky' to be unharmed

A man who was buried on a beach after a 6ft (2m) hole he was in collapsed was "very lucky" to be unharmed, rescuers have said.

Members of the public joined emergency services to help dig the 18-year-old out of the hole on Newquay's Fistral Beach in Cornwall on Thursday.

Surfboards and stretchers were used to secure the hole around the man.

Once rescued, he was treated in an ambulance, taken to hospital and has since been released.

The fire service said he was a "very, very, lucky boy".

The man became trapped at about 17:15 BST and emergency services including the RNLI lifeguards, HM Coastguard, fire, police and ambulance teams helped rescue him, along with beachgoers.

The lifeguards on the beach raised the alarm, contacting Falmouth Coastguard which deployed rescue teams from Newquay and Padstow.

When Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service arrived the man was buried standing upright, and lifeguards had managed to get his face clear of sand.

Lee Beresford, from Newquay Community Fire Station, said he was given oxygen and was "shaken up and worried about what was going to happen".

They attached breathing apparatus to him in case the sand collapsed.

"It could have been very different. It highlights the importance of being aware at the beach. You wouldn't dig a 6ft hole in your garden and sit in it, so don't do it at the beach."

Due to the changing shape of the dunes on beaches around Newquay, the fire service took part in additional scenario training last year, anticipating incidents of people getting buried.

It included getting a new piece of equipment called a sand lance, that they used for the first time to rescue the man.

Mr Beresford said: "You attach an air cylinder which disturbs all the sand around his feet and legs.

"While we were digging out by hand around him and using spades, he was able to push it down and the air was freeing his legs.

"Once we got to a certain level we could free his arms and pull him out. It is a great bit of kit."

Garth Shaw from Falmouth Coastguard said: "There are plenty of ways to get yourself into trouble on the coast, but an incident like this, digging a hole is something where normal safety advice applies wherever you are."

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