A 25-YEAR-old man who fell into a 5ft-deep hole and was buried alive is now fighting for his life in hospital.

Josh Taylor was with a large group of friends at a beach north of Brisbane when he fell into the hole they had dug to roast a pig in.

Josh was soon wholly submerged in the sand and friends, family and witnesses were unable to pull him out for almost an hour.

A witness called Nathan told 7News: “We just started digging, digging, digging.”

He said that he immediately ran down to his car, grabbed his brother and told him that he had to go and help dig.

Nathan explained that Josh and his friends had dug a hole to cook a pig in, and that Josh had fallen into the hole.

He recalled how the sand gave way beneath Josh as he stood up off of his chair and that this is what caused him to stumble in.

When Josh put his hands out to break the fall, his arms knocked sand on top of him.

Nathan also said that Josh was so deep in the hole that no part of him was visible.

Only his feet could be seen if you were standing on top.

He continued: “All of his family were screaming at us, telling us to help, telling us to get rope so we could pull him out. It was pretty gruesome.

Multiple paramedic crews, rescue helicopters and a group of Queensland Park and Wildlife Rangers were called out to the scene.

Nathan said: “There was like 15 fully grown men on the end of this rope and he still would not budge.”

When the paramedics arrived they started pulling him another way, and it was only then that the suction gave way and he eventually came out of the hole.

Nathan said that Josh finally popped out of the sand after an hour of pulling and digging, but that the force caused him more injury.

He said: “It was pretty gnarly when he popped out. I threw up.

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“He broke. The suction, the force, of everyone pulling.

“I’m praying that he pulls through this.”

A helicopter also landed nearby to deliver a Rescue Critical Care Doctor.

When Josh was finally freed, he did not have a pulse.

It took the rangers 45 minutes of extended CPR to get his pulse to return.

They then handed him over to the rescue crew, who airlifted him from the beach and flew him to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Josh remains in critical condition, but doctors at Princess Alexandra are working tirelessly to save his life.

The freak incident comes just days after a man in his 20s was airlifted to hospital after being mauled by a shark on the Great Barrier Reef.

Emergency services were called to Clack Island, off Queensland’s far north coast, after the man, 21, was bitten by the shark on his upper body.

It is understood he sustained deep puncture wounds to his shoulder and bicep area but is in a stable condition.

Queensland Ambulance Service responded to a call for help just after 12.30pm on Thursday.

A spokesperson said the helicopter was sent to the scene from Cairns and flown back to Cairns Base Hospital.

Clack Island is one of several islands that comprise the Flinders Group National Park.