A 6-year-old boy buried in eleven feet of sand at the Indiana Dunes survives.
A 6-year-old boy is still alive after being buried under 11 feet of sand for about 3.5 hours Friday evening at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, officials said.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Friday on the northern slopes of Mt. Baldy, a well-known and highly popular landmark at the eastern edge of the park, according to Bruce Rowe, a park ranger and public information officer at the park. Rowe said that the 6-year-old child's family said that he had become trapped in "what they described as a sinkhole" and that when they tried to get him out, the hole collapsed on him.
Family members called 911 and the park service, and within 15 minutes, park rangers and Michigan City police were on the scene, Rowe said. They immediately began digging where the family last saw the child, and heavy equipment from NIPSCO, the local power provider, and from two excavating companies, D & M Excavating and Woodruff & Sons, was brought to the scene to help.
Rowe said that the child was found just after 8 p.m., was taken out of the sand to an off-road vehicle which took the boy to an ambulance waiting on a nearby beach. He was then transported to Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Michigan City and later was taken to Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago.
The boy's specific condition was unknown, Rowe said, but he was showing vital signs. A spokesman for Comer hsopital told WGN-TV this morning that child was in critical condition.
Rowe did not know where the boy was from, but knew the child and his family were from out-of-state.
Rowe said the cause of the accident is unknown and noted that "I've been here since 1991 and have never heard of anything like this. None of the staff from the park or the surrounding agencies have heard about anything like this."
When asked about the nature of the sand in which the boy was buried, Rowe said that it appeared to be darker the farther down they dug, indicating that there was some moisture in it, but he said it did not appear to be unusually wet. The sand is primarily quartz, he said, just like the sand that covers the beaches on the southern end of Lake Michigan.
Asked whether the boy could breathe while covered with sand, he said he didn't know the answer to that question.
The area around Mt. Baldy is closed to the public while officials investigate, Rowe said, but the rest of the park remains open.
Rowe said the park service's law enforcement staff and resource management staff would take the lead in the investigation and would bring in additional help as needed.
The hole in which the boy was trapped was filled in after photos and measurements were taken of the area, Rowe said, because they didn't want to risk anyone accidentally making their way into the now closed area and getting caught in it.
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A 6-year-old boy is still alive after being buried under 11 feet of sand for about 3.5 hours Friday evening at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, officials said.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Friday on the northern slopes of Mt. Baldy, a well-known and highly popular landmark at the eastern edge of the park, according to Bruce Rowe, a park ranger and public information officer at the park. Rowe said that the 6-year-old child's family said that he had become trapped in "what they described as a sinkhole" and that when they tried to get him out, the hole collapsed on him.
Family members called 911 and the park service, and within 15 minutes, park rangers and Michigan City police were on the scene, Rowe said. They immediately began digging where the family last saw the child, and heavy equipment from NIPSCO, the local power provider, and from two excavating companies, D & M Excavating and Woodruff & Sons, was brought to the scene to help.
Rowe said that the child was found just after 8 p.m., was taken out of the sand to an off-road vehicle which took the boy to an ambulance waiting on a nearby beach. He was then transported to Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Michigan City and later was taken to Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago.
The boy's specific condition was unknown, Rowe said, but he was showing vital signs. A spokesman for Comer hsopital told WGN-TV this morning that child was in critical condition.
Rowe did not know where the boy was from, but knew the child and his family were from out-of-state.
Rowe said the cause of the accident is unknown and noted that "I've been here since 1991 and have never heard of anything like this. None of the staff from the park or the surrounding agencies have heard about anything like this."
When asked about the nature of the sand in which the boy was buried, Rowe said that it appeared to be darker the farther down they dug, indicating that there was some moisture in it, but he said it did not appear to be unusually wet. The sand is primarily quartz, he said, just like the sand that covers the beaches on the southern end of Lake Michigan.
Asked whether the boy could breathe while covered with sand, he said he didn't know the answer to that question.
The area around Mt. Baldy is closed to the public while officials investigate, Rowe said, but the rest of the park remains open.
Rowe said the park service's law enforcement staff and resource management staff would take the lead in the investigation and would bring in additional help as needed.
The hole in which the boy was trapped was filled in after photos and measurements were taken of the area, Rowe said, because they didn't want to risk anyone accidentally making their way into the now closed area and getting caught in it.
[email protected]
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking