11-year-old falls into an 8-foot deep hole in Yuma

The Yuma Fire Department ( YFD ) received a call on Tuesday evening about an eleven-year-old girl who fell into an 8-foot deep hole on the ground in her backyard. YFD said the girl is safe but upset.

According to YFD , they arrived to find the young girl at the bottom of an 8 foot deep, 3-foot wide hole. YFD firefighters along with the Technical Rescue Team ( TRT ) personnel began to evaluate the situation.

YFD said they obtained a 14 ‘ extension ladder to allow the young girl to climb out. The girl was covered in sand but otherwise appeared to be okay.

YFD said the child had been swimming in an above ground pool in her backyard when she got out of the pool. She fell into a hole that appeared to have been a possible old septic tank. Water splashing from the pool is believed to have softened the ground (about 20″ deep) allowing it to collapse with the child above.

The family had lived in the home for 2 years and had no idea this was under the surface.

YFD personnel is trained in various aspects of emergency rescue. They utilize their training and equipment to determine the best course of action to safely respond to unpredictable situations like this.