A young boy is in the hospital after the walls of a sand tunnel on the beach collapsed over him, trapping him briefly before he was pulled out.
The boy, believed to be between 10 and 12 years old, was attempting to dig a tunnel in the sand with his brother and some friends on a beach in Long Branch, N.J., according to Police Captain Jason Roebuck. The boy was going through the tunnel, and the walls collapsed on him.
Someone saw the sand collapse and screamed for help from lifeguards, said Robach. The boy was pulled out of the sand, and lifeguards performed CPR on him as they waited for paramedics.
A beachgoer from Staten Island says the boy wasn't moving when the lifeguards pulled him out.
"They were pumping him, pressing on his stomach, trying to bring him back," she said. "They kept trying to revive him, pressing, pressing. There was blood coming out of his nose... He didn't move."
The boy was rushed to Monmouth Medical Center, where sources said he is in pediatric ICU. He is breathing.
The boy is from Oakhurst, sources said, but his name is being withheld.
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Also Monday, a fire truck responding to the scene hit a man holding a child, police said. The truck was pulling into a street near the beach when he struck the pair, knocking them both to the ground.
Both were taken to the Jersey Shore Medical Center with broken limbs.
