EXCLUSIVE 'I thought I was going to die': Brit tourist rescued from 8ft hole HE dug on Brazil beach tells of terror, but admits 'I think it's just a guy thing where you go to the beach and dig a hole'
Jensen Sturgeon was celebrating his 22nd birthday in Rio de Janeiro while on holiday with friends on April 26 when the group decided to visit the iconic Copacabana Beach.
Mr Sturgeon, a baggage handler at Gatwick airport, began digging a hole while his friends sunbathed and was even handed a shovel by a bemused worker to aid his efforts.
But after reaching eight feet he struck water, leading the sand around him to collapse and leaving the Briton stuck.
Mr Sturgeon told MailOnline: 'My mate started sunbathing and I thought it would be a great idea to dig a hole.
'We got about eight feet deep and then obvs found water at that point and then it all just came down on me.
'My head was even under the sand. I was trying to shout for my mates and I knew they couldn't hear me.'
After fighting against the sand, Mr Sturgeon managed to free his head and call for help, with some 30 people gathering around him in a bid to get him out.
'I was quite scared,' Mr Sturgeon said. 'At one point I looked behind me and I could see a huge pile of sand. I thought if that fell on me that would be it.
'All that was going through my head was, this is it. I really thought I was going to die that day.'
It took three hours for the crowd to rescue the tourist, using piece of wood, shovels and lengths of rope to pull him up to the surface.
At one point, he was even handed a beer, which he drank in a bid to stay hydrated.
He was eventually rescued to cheers and applause from onlookers, as some filmed the dramatic rescue.
Mr Sturgeon said: 'When I got out I couldn't stand properly. Everyone was trying to talk to me but I just had to sit back down. My legs were so sore for the rest of the holiday.'
After his ordeal, Mr Sturgeon and his friends returned to their hotel where they spent the evening watching TV and eating pizza.
Despite his ordeal, the Brit said didn't seek medical attention and will probably do it again.
'I think it's just a guy thing where you go to the beach and dig a hole,' he said. 'I feel like I will end up digging another hole on a beach.'
Mr Sturgeon was surprised and 'overwhelmed' when the video footage of the rescue went viral last week, making headlines across Brazil.
In a video filmed after the incident, he said: 'I'm Jensen from England and I'm the guy who got stuck in that hole.
'But luckily I had good people to save me. Obrigado to the people of Rio that helped me out.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil dismisses calls to relocate COP30 amid Amazon city price surge
BRASILIA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Brazil is resisting calls to move the global COP30 climate summit, scheduled for November, out of Belem, even as it faces mounting pressure over soaring accommodation prices in the Amazonian city. "The COP will be in Belem, the leaders' summit will be in Belem," Andre Correa do Lago, the president of COP30, told reporters on Friday. "There is no plan B." Nearly every government in the world will gather at the annual U.N. summit to negotiate their joint efforts to curb climate change. But concerns about logistics, rather than global climate policy, have dominated pre-summit chatter. Developing countries have warned that they cannot afford Belem's accommodation prices, which have soared amid a shortage of rooms. Last week, representatives of several countries pressured Brazil to move the conference away from Belem during an emergency meeting at the United Nations' climate bureau, Correa do Lago said. That brought to a head a steady stream of concerns raised by members of the U.N. climate secretariat, known as UNFCCC, with Brazil over the price and lack of accommodation in Belem for months. At the same meeting of the COP bureau last month, the UNFCCC told participants it had provided advice to Brazil on potentially moving parts of COP30 – such as the section where world leaders speak – out of Belem to ease pressure on accommodation, according to a summary of the COP bureau meeting, seen by Reuters. Brazil rejected the idea, the summary said. The UNFCCC declined to comment. The Brazilian Presidency said in a statement "there is no discussion regarding a change in the host city for COP-30" and the Brazilian government "reiterates its commitment to holding a comprehensive, inclusive, and accessible climate conference." Hotels in Belem are few, and despite requests from the government, are charging 10 or even 15 times what they charge regularly, Correa do Lago said. "Maybe the hotels aren't aware of the crisis they are creating," he added. Countries are not just concerned about accommodation. They are also worried about whether rooms being offered to delegations will be close enough together so negotiations can run smoothly, whether there will be enough food options and whether local airports will be able to handle the influx of visitors. But Brazil has maintained that preparations for the conference are on track, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva showing no willingness to backtrack on his promise to present the Amazon rainforest to the world at COP30. His administration has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into improving infrastructure in Belem to host the conference, helping state Governor Helder Barbalho attract public and foreign investment. An old political ally, Barbalho helped Lula win the election in Pará in 2022, and will be a key element for the president's campaign next year. Lula and Barbalho did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Brazil has offered 10 to 15 rooms at prices of up to $220 a night to delegations of countries considered to be among the least developed in the world. But that amount exceeds the $146 the United Nations offers to diplomats of such countries to pay for accommodation, meals and transport. Infrastructure issues, Correa do Lago told reporters on Friday, "are interfering at a time, deep down, we should be using to discuss substantive issues." On Friday, Brazil opened a booking platform to the public. On Monday morning, the website showed a wait list of almost 2,000 people, but Reuters was able to access it after waiting an hour. It showed rates from $360 to $4,400 a night.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
'Bashed' Brighton Main Line bridge gets vehicle collision protection
Collision protection beams are being installed on a rail bridge on the Brighton Main Line, says Network Brighton Road bridge in Coulsdon South, which carries trains that run on the Brighton Main Line between London and the south coast via Gatwick Airport, has been struck "multiple times" by vehicles causing disruption to steel beams and support frames have been designed to absorb vehicle impacts and protect the McCauliffe, Network Rail's Sussex route director, said: "These works at Brighton Road will help reduce delays and improve the reliability of services for thousands of passengers each day." 'Vital infrastructure' To allow works to take place, Network Rail warned there would be disruption on Brighton Road and access to the station would be restricted at certain road closures will be operation every Monday to Friday, from 21:00 BST to 05:30, from 8 September to 17 October.A full weekend closure of part of the Brighton Road will take place on 18 and 19 access the station during the night-time closures, passengers can make a left turn before the closure 18 and 19 October, station access will be via the south side of the station car park will also have reduced capacity during the McCauliffe added: "Where strikes continue to happen, we also install protection beams like these to shield vital infrastructure."Thank you to the local community and car park users for their understanding while we carry out these important upgrades."
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
‘Our north is the south': Softball leagues flourish in Brazilian city as Cuban arrivals outnumber Venezuelans for first time
If he had been able to choose, Roberto Hernandez Tello, 59, would have gone to the United States last May, when he left Cuba in search of a better life. However, due to Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies, he ended up in Curitiba, in southern Brazil, 3,940 miles from his native Camagüey. Thousands of his compatriots have arrived in Brazil this year, contributing to a shift in which, for the first time, more Cubans than Venezuelans are applying for asylum in Latin America's largest country. 'I love Cuba, but with the crisis it's impossible to live there now,' said Tello. 'I have a 31-year-old son who lives in the US. But since Trump scrapped the parole, I chose to come to Brazil,' he added, referring to the US president's elimination of the humanitarian programme known as CHNV, which had benefited migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. For years, Venezuela's political and economic crises has driven people out of the country, creating a global diaspora of nearly 8 million. However, as of June this year, Brazil has had twice as many asylum requests from Cubans, 19,419, compared with Venezuelans, 9,850. Cubans typically travel to Guyana or Suriname, countries with less bureaucratic visa processes, before crossing the land border into the northern Brazilian states of Roraima and Amapá. But many are continuing their journey way down south, particularly to Curitiba – a city home to 1.8 million and the capital of Paraná state – which ranks just behind the northern entry-point towns in Cuban asylum requests. The city has the highest GDP of the southern state capitals and is known for its strong public transportation, healthcare and education systems. There are so many Cubans and Venezuelans in Curitiba that they've formed two leagues of softball, a sport virtually unknown in football-obsessed Brazil. About 350 players, split across 16 teams, play the larger-ball, compact version of baseball on makeshift pitches of two parks in São José dos Pinhais, just outside Curitiba. The catcher of one team, Ernesto Alberto Keiser Limonta, 30, arrived last year. He lives with his wife and is now focused on bringing the rest of the family to join them. 'I chose Curitiba because I was told it's a prosperous, safe city that has a lot of work,' he said. Almost every Sunday, Limonta takes to the field in full uniform – cap, jersey bearing the flags of Cuba and Brazil, trousers, socks, and cleats without metal studs, to avoid injuries that could prevent someone from working the next day. Given that the heavy influx of Venezuelans began earlier, they make up most of the players, but the roughly 20 Cubans have managed to form a dedicated Team Cuba. 'There's a saying among migrants – and now it's being repeated by Cubans – that our north is the south,' said one Venezuelan, Angel Blanco, 44, who founded one of the leagues. The movement began last year when – according to the UN Refugee Agency – Brazil became the country with the highest number of Cubans applying for asylum (22,288 applications), ahead of Mexico (17,884) and the US (13,685). The figures could be even higher, as many Cubans struggle even to submit their requests. Tello, for instance, has been seeking help from the humanitarian NGO José as he still has not been able to book an appointment with the federal police to formally register his request. Only with the protocol, which also serves as an ID, can migrants be officially hired by Brazilian employers. Appointments must be booked online, and the next available slot wasn't until November, Tello said. 'I'm afraid I'll run out of money – and if I do, I'll end up sleeping on the streets. In this cold, I'd be dead within days,' he added, referring to the city's climate, where temperatures can drop to 5C. A federal police spokesperson said the gap was 'due to high and growing demand' and that 'ongoing efforts to expand capacity have not been enough to keep pace with the exponential number of migrants arriving in the region.' Yaneth Corina Lara Garcia, a Venezuelan who works as an integration assistant at the non-profit organisation Cáritas Curitiba, said: 'It's six months in which, unable to get formal work, Cuban migrants end up vulnerable to exploitation – including modern slavery.' Another common challenge for Cubans is having their university degrees recognised, which forces many into lower-paid jobs, such as construction or cooking. Yarismeli Nardo, 36, a psychologist who has lived in Curitiba since 2019, is one of the few to have had her degree recognised. But it wasn't easy, she says. The Federal University of Paraná opens just one application round per year, requiring a lengthy list of documents – often difficult to obtain in Cuba – as well as exams and interviews. However, she persisted, and while working as a pharmacy sales assistant, Nardo completed the process. She now spends two days a week working as a psychologist at a clinic and the rest as an IT technician. Now, six years after she left, Nardo is planning her first holiday back to Cuba. 'I want to save a little money, because my biggest wish is to see my grandmother, who's 94,' she said. 'When I first came here, I felt as if I was nobody – starting from scratch, where no one knew me. Now I feel as if I'm finally catching my breath.'
