Girl Buried Up To Neck Saved After Sand Collapse At Chatham Beach
CHATHAM (CBS) – A 15-year-old girl was rescued after she ended up buried up to her neck in the sand in Chatham over the weekend.
The teen, named Tessa, was digging a hole around 5 p.m. Sunday on North Beach Island when the surrounding dune area collapsed on top of her.
"Everything was buried up to her neck so she couldn't breathe," said Tessa's mom, Heidi Filmer-Gallagher. "She literally can't move under this. It's like being in cement."
Someone called 911 and firefighters and the harbormaster put a protective barrier over her to minimize any more collapsing sand before they pulled her out.
Assistant Harbormaster Skip Woods was one of the first to reach her. "She was scared, but well-composed," Woods said.
"We were fortunate in the regard that her face and airway were above the level of the collapse, she was able to breathe," said Deputy Fire Chief Justin Tavano.
Tessa was put on a boat and taken to the Chatham fish pier where an ambulance was waiting. She was checked out and not taken to the hospital.