Taxi driver, tourists dig boy out of sand collapse in Ho Chi Minh City

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon at a vacant lot on Luong The Tran Street.

The boy, identified as H., was playing with his friends near a large sand hole, which was about one meter deep.

As he crawled inside, the wet sand, loosened by recent rain, suddenly gave way, burying him.

Panicked, his friends called out for help.

Taxi driver Le Van Ti Hon, 38, who was parked nearby, noticed the children running in distress.

Initially unsure what was happening, he got out of his car and was alerted by a female tourist shouting, “A child is buried under the sand!”

Hon immediately rushed over and began digging with a male tourist, using shovels and their bare hands, following directions from the children who had seen where H. went under.

“At first we used shovels, but I was afraid we might hurt the boy, so I used my hands instead,” Hon recalled.

The sand was still soft, making it easier to dig.

After about 15 minutes, they finally reached the boy.

Despite being trapped headfirst in the sand, H. was still breathing as no sand had entered his nose or mouth.

The boy was conscious and walked away with his friends after the rescue.

“I was so dizzy afterward from high blood pressure, I nearly fainted,” Hon said.

“But I’m just happy the boy was safe.”

Hon, a native of An Giang Province in southern Vietnam, moved to Con Dao with his family and now works as a taxi driver.

A video of the rescue, filmed and posted by the female tourist, has since gone viral on social media, drawing widespread praise for the trio’s quick action.