ABC NewsTwo New York boys are recovering after they were inadvertently trapped for about eight hours in a snowbank when a plow operator pushed snow over them, not realizing they were there.
But the boys – ages 11 and 9 – are OK, after police officers, relatives and neighbors frantically dug through the snow to pull them to safety.
The ordeal began at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when the cousins were buried while building a snow fort near their homes in Newburgh, Orange County, which is located about 60 miles north of New York City. When the boys didn’t return home by 10 p.m., family and friends set out looking for them before calling police.
Officers found a shovel and small boot sticking out of the snow mound and started digging, trying to rescue the boys as sub-freezing temperatures set in.
Neighbors came to help, some digging with shovels, others clawing at the snow with their bare hands. The boys were pulled from the snow at around 2 a.m. – cold, but otherwise OK – and taken to the hospital for observation.
For Takiaya Stevens, who witnessed the rescue, the situation reflects the community’s togetherness.
“As a parent, I was shocked and I was distraught because that could have been my son,” Stevens said.
“What I seen last night showed common courtesy and decency. They ran to every neighbor in my complex to try to get shovels for these little kids.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/york-boys-recovering-trapped-snow-bank/story?id=27228985
I am surprised they did not suffocate or succumb to hypothermia. Good thing they were rescued in time.
Wait a minute.. if they were buried by a passing plow truck, how much snow could possibly be on top of them? A foot, possibly two?
And these two helpless little bastards couldn’t dig their way out of that? They weren’t babies, they were 9 & 11 years old, and I don’t believe they could have been trapped under a foot of snow for 8 hours.
I think they were playing in their igloo for six hours and enjoyed the attention they received for being “trapped”, which is a lot better than getting in trouble for being out after dark.