POMPANO BEACH, Fla. --
Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Sunday night firefighters pulled a man out of a deep hole in the beach sand on Pompano Beach.
Stunned beachgoers watched rescue crews raise a 19 year-old tourist from the giant hole.
"I've seen shark attacks, jellyfish stings, but nothing like this," said onlooker Michael Bliss.
It began at 6 p.m. Sunday evening on the beach off 700 Ocean Boulevard in Pompano Beach.
Police said the teen is a member of the Austrian national swim team.
He was digging a massive 7 foot deep by 6 foot-wide hole with his teammates, when fun turned into a life threatening situation.
"It was the perfect hole, until he decided to jump into if for fun. Then the walls caved in on him," said Sandra King with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.
The victims head was the only thing not covered by the wall of sand and he couldn't breath. The pressure from the sand threatened to suffocate him.
"The more you moved, the more it caved in on him," said King.
A lifeguard called 911.
Teammates looked on while rescuers went to work.
Oxygen was administered as dozens of members with a Fire and Rescue Special Operations unit tried to free him.
They worked carefully trying not to add more pressure to the sand.
It took nearly three hours before he was plucked from the sand.
His friends stood by his side through it all, but were still too shocked to talk Sunday night.
A teammate signaled a sigh of relief with a thumbs up.
The victim was transported to North Broward Medical Center in critical condition.
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