Austrian Olympic Swimmer Nearly Buried Himself Alive on Florida Beach
- Posted on May 11, 2011 at 12:01am by
Emily Esfahani Smith
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POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A member of the Austrian Olympic swim team had to be rescued after he used a bucket to dig a large hole that collapsed and trapped him, authorities said.
It took 60 rescuers two hours to free Jakub Maly, 19, who had spent a few hours Sunday digging the hole that was 7 feet deep and 6 feet wide. It’s not clear why he jumped in after he finished digging. Rescue officials asked a teammate to lean over the hole and talk to Maly during the rescue, according to fire rescue officials.
“He looked more in shock when he came out,” said Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King. “He was obviously traumatized.”
Maly was in danger of being crushed by the pressure from the sand. The swim team first dug out Maly’s head so he could breathe, and rescue officials gave him an oxygen mask as soon as they arrived. Large boards were placed along the outside of the hole to keep more sand from falling in on him, King said.
Maly was taken to North Broward Hospital and released early Monday. He and his team were scheduled to leave South Florida by early Monday afternoon, King said. It wasn’t immediately known what injuries Maly sustained or if he dug the hole alone.
King said the Austrian Olympic team had been training in South Florida since April. Sunday was an off day for team members.
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Comments (53)
Pixelguy
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:54pmStupidity. This swimmer should be charged for the rescue costs.
Now litigation lawyers will require signs at beaches in the USA that state:
‘Warning! You may become trapped and die if you dig a hold in the sand on this beach and jump into it.’
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:39pmMaybe we could hire union lifeguards at $120,000 a year and post them every 10 feet to protect us all.
Report Post »bigdaddybernie
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 12:54pmDarwin nearly got another one.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:35pmI hope the liberals will take up some government regulations to protect us. Maybe out law digging on the beach or out law sand at beaches. They could hire union workers to repair the beach infrastructure. Please Mr. Muslim in chief, take my money (tax me more) to make the beaches safe.
Report Post »bigdaddybernie
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 12:52pmDarwin almost got another one!
Report Post »bigdaddybernie
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 12:50pmNo one ever suggested a jock needed an I.Q. or even common sense to ply his trade; just a good bod to make the girls swoon.
Report Post »SeeSaw
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 11:24amDuh!!!!!!
Report Post »The Weave
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 11:00amI just wonder how he ever managed to out swim the other 2 million sperm cells the moment he was conceived.
Report Post »sizzlinsexybeckster
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:43amThis “news story” should not be listed here.
Report Post »sizzlinsexybeckster
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:42amThis man is a dumb dweeb.
Report Post »ImaHippyBurning
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:28am“Brilliant”
Report Post »yathink
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:37amWhen you dig a hole and jump in and need help getting out. Here’s your bill services rendered. Just like climbing a Mountian and can’t get down. Here’s your bill. If you think about doing a thing and then need rescue. Here’s your bill.
Report Post »crapgame
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:34amAnother Mensa member, perhaps they should have finished burying him, and erected a monument to his stupidity.
Report Post »florida123
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:17amHow old is this guy? All that chlorine must of fried too many brain cells……..DUH
Report Post »loadingmyclips
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:45am…und holden mein Bier und VATCH DIS!!!
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 4:59amHe’s no Olympic digger, that’s for sure.
Report Post »payback
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 3:06amif the sharks or oil dosen’t get you the sand will! LOL!!!
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 2:27am“It took 60 rescuers two hours to free Jakub Maly, 19, who had spent a few hours Sunday digging the hole that was 7 feet deep and 6 feet wide”
What a load of crap!!! People think about it, would it take 60 people 2 hours to dig a guy out of a 7 foot hole? NO. Also sand usually fills in the hole as you dig, it would be hard to dig a hole that deep unless he was in soil.
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 2:47am.
They only had one melonballer as a digging tool that they had to share…?
I wonder if they could have brought over a fire truck to pump water into the sand next to him to loosen it up (quicksand works in both directions), while someone was lifting on him so he didn’t sink deeper.
I‘ll bet they could have had him out within 5 minutes of a tanker truck’s arrival.
Note to “carnifex”, I believe that Australia is referrred to as ‘Oz’. This guy was Austrian. There are no kangaroos in Austria.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on May 13, 2011 at 12:07amUnion workers in Florida, 59 watching…one digging
Report Post »chinqua
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 2:11amMaybe he should run for President of the United States!
Report Post »loadingmyclips
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:54amyeah cause bo obama sure has dug us into a hole!
Report Post »BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:46amUm, who gives a darn? This story is particularly lame even standing out among a string of lame stories. Couldn‘t find any ’Cat Stuck in Tree’ articles? Maybe more pointless copy of Mr. Beck in Israel (is this The 700 Club or are we just watching slides of his vacation?)
Maybe The Blaze is being sued by the AP for exceeding their limit, heck if I know, but during the last week or so this site has been guano.
Report Post »Dale
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:15amSee ya.
Report Post »Goldlady
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:36amAlmost natural selection at work…..
Report Post »thebarbarian
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 4:22amDarwin runner up for 2011 is …..
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:34ampoor kid. our family works heavy highway/underground and in sandy soil esp you better have a “ditch box” so the ditch sides do not cave in… a horrible crushing suffocating way to die. this kid was damn lucky.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:14amI agree, especially if they were using wet sand with the added water weight. Hope he makes a full recovery.
Report Post »not-a-lib
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:14amWhat beach will allow someone to dig such a hole? And, did he have a back-hoe or something?
He jumped in AFTER he dug the hole? Sounds like it collapsed when he was in there digging…
Report Post »Broncobuster
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:06amStupid is as stupid does.
Report Post »BeerSnob
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:16amThat was so profound that you needed to say it twice?:)
Report Post »Broncobuster
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:59amNo,not profound,just didn’t see it post and I hit “Reply” again . If you look at the time posted they are 1 minute apart.I don’t know why there are so many comments with much later times in between .It‘s too bad they don’t have a “Delete” feature like Facebook. In this case my reply could apply to myself :)
Report Post »OneofMany
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:06amWhat can you say….guess he got a little over zealous and almost dug his own grave…. good thing his swimming buddies were there….
Report Post »BeerSnob
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:16amHe certainly did get in over his head
Report Post »Broncobuster
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:05amStupid is as stupid does .
Report Post »carnifex
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:37amOz’s version of a redneck..” Hey ya’ll! Watch this!”, or the ubiquitous “I saw this in a cartoon once…I think I can do it.”
CHIVALRY–NOT ALL GIRLS LIKE IT. JUST THE ONES WORTH DYING FOR.
Report Post »Mee the People
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 1:58amhe could be killed just from the sand on his chest restricting his lungs
Report Post »joseph Fawcett
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 2:17amYep you said it right! LOL! You would think he would know better, I bet they don’t have him on the swim team for his brains. Hopefully he won’t do it again. Should make him pay the bill for all the rescue workers!
http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 3:11amSend him a bill for the workers.
Report Post »thebarbarian
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 4:17amgive that boy a sign!
Report Post »sbeejustsaying
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:39amDon’t be so hard on the kid. When working in under ground construction there are different rules for digging in differnt kind of soils. I went to a class to learn about it. When he started his digging the sand was wet most likely and dried out as the day went on making it very unstable. Thank God he lived.
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:04amDumba$$!
Report Post »mill
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:22amGood grief, even the little kids know you don’t do this stuff in any soil, much less unstable sand..stupid …
Report Post »jackrorabbit
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 10:10amAnother Government “Bailout”.
Report Post »Jake in Denver
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 4:55pmAustria, the birthplace of modern socialism and other idiots.
Report Post »WeekendAtBernankes
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:50pm@Carnifex
He was from AUSTRIA, not Australia (Oz).
@Jake In Denver
Austria was also the birthplace of Frederick Hayek and the Austrian economists (definitely not socialists OR idiots).
Report Post »Carnefix
Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:28pmRight on Carnifex
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on May 13, 2011 at 12:02amAlmost a Darwin Candidate!!
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