Girl Freed After 5 Frigid Hours in Pit of Wet Sand

A young girl spent five hours in 28-degree weather, trapped in wet sand up to her chest, before firefighters could free her, officials said Friday.

Staci Bonelli, 12, was playing with three friends at Trap Rock Co., a cement factory, when she and another girl became trapped Thursday evening, police officer Malinka Bragg said.

The second girl was freed easily, but Staci’s “own motions and trying to get out forced her down deeper,” said Richard Bailey, a Fire Department battalion chief.

The wet sand and freezing temperatures combined to pose a high risk of hypothermia, or loss of body heat, so time was important in the rescue, Bailey said.

Staci did suffer mild hypothermia. She was treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and kept overnight for observation, Laura Feragan of the hospital said Friday.

Fire trucks illuminated the scene with floodlights as rescuers worked to drain the sand beneath the girl.

The rescue crew tied a rope under Staci’s arms and held it taut from an overhead conveyor as rescuers prepared to open a trap door about two feet below her feet. The door is used to transfer sand to a conveyor belt.

Once Staci was secured with ropes, planks were positioned to prevent more sand from collapsing around her and the trap door was slowly opened to drain the sand.

As the sand flowed out, the rescuers pulled on the ropes to lift her out.

“Once the sand started to drain, it took about five or 10 minutes,” Deputy Fire Chief Phillip McLaughlin said.