Tragic details emerge as Australian buried alive on Bribie Island identified

The man who fell into a 1.5m hole and was buried alive in the sand on Bribie Island has been identified as Josh Taylor.

Queensland paramedics and an RACQ Lifeflight rescue helicopter crew were called to help the 25-year-old man after he fell into a hole and was buried in the sand on Bribie Island, Australia. north of Brisbane, just before 2 p.m.

Nathan, a witness to the incident who helped dig up Mr Taylor, told 7News the hole was dug to cook a pig.

“He got up from the chair, the sand had given way a little bit under him,” he said.

“He tripped. He had obviously stretched out his arms to break the fall, he continued to descend and spilled sand while holding out his arms.

“He was so deep in the hole that you couldn’t see him or his feet unless you were standing at the top of the hole.”

A herd of people came to Mr Taylor's aid, dug him out before tying a rope to his feet to pull him out of the hole.

“There were 15 grown men at the end of that rope and he still wouldn’t move,” Nathan said.

“That's when the paramedic wanted to pull him that way… the suction gave way and he came out.

“I pray he pulls through.”

The family arrived desperately at the scene

Mr Taylor's family are with him at 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 screaming 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 desperate to get him out.

“I realized someone was head first in a hole and I was digging, digging, digging…” he said.

“When I first got to the hole, I couldn’t even see his foot. That’s how deep it was,” he said.

More than 15 people were digging in the sand to get the man out before paramedics and rangers arrived.

“His whole family was yelling at us, telling us to help him, telling us to get a rope so we could get him out. It was pretty horrible,” he said.

“There were about 15 men pulling on the rope and it didn’t move.”

'I threw up'

After some time spent pulling and digging, the young man finally broke through the surface of the sand, but the force of ripping it out caused him even more injury, Nathan said.

“It was pretty terrible when it came out. I threw up,” Nathan said.

“It broke. The aspiration, the strength of everyone pulling.

When they got him out, the man no longer had a pulse and the rangers began performing CPR.

Rangers in the area also applied a defibrillator before paramedics arrived.

A helicopter pilot landed on the beach to bring the LifeFlight RACQ rescue critical care doctor and flight paramedic as close to the scene as possible.

The rescue team then transported the man to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition for further treatment.

It reportedly took 45 minutes before the man's pulse returned.

QAS paramedic Peter Batt praised the actions of those who helped.

“The fact that they found a pulse on this young man after a long period of CPR is proof that good CPR was performed, it is a credit to the people who came in and helped provide first aid,” he said. .

Doctors on the Princess Alexandra are now working to save the man's life.

Paramedics told Nine News the tragedy happened during a beach get-together with friends.

The friends dug a hole in the sand and the young man fell headfirst into the hole before the sand collapsed around him, burying him alive, Nine reported.

Bribie Island, part of the Moreton Bay region of Queensland, is a popular holiday destination.

NCA Newswire

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