An eight-year-old boy had to be rescued Sunday afternoon January 15, 2017 after he fell into a sinkhole.
A 3 foot circular open was found with unstable soil around all edges. The boy was found alert, talking approximately 15 feet down inside the pit resting in waist high water.
The deep hole formed in the front yard of an apartment complex. As the rescue arrived, the the sinkhole was still unstable.
Firefighters put ladders over the hole. A rapid extraction was effected by lowering pre-tied ropes down to the child which secured his torso, legs and upper extremities.
The child was then extracted vertically from the hole without any complications in about 15 minutes.
The boy was pulled from the hole and treated by paramedics.
As a small reminder: If anybody should ever fall into a pit or sinkhole keep a safe distance until firefighters arrive. Soil can become soft and collapse unless specific precautions are put in place to secure the ground. This can risk the safety of the victim and potentially hurt would-be rescuers.
