Teen Falls Into Sinkhole In Northeast Omaha On Thursday

OMAHA–(WOWT July 4)–A 16-year-old girl found herself 12-feet in the ground, after a sinkhole developed in a northeast Omaha neighborhood.

A picture posted on social media by the Omaha Fire Department shows the gaping hole.  The picture shows where the ground gave out at the end of a concrete slab near Uta Halee Academy in Ponca Hills.

Ponca Hills fire officials say the ground around the hole was severely unstable, so they called Omaha Fire’s technical rescue team for back-up.

Responders created a human chain to get as close as possible without the threat of further collapse.

Time was of the essence. Fire officials say the teen was going in and out of consciousness.  After about 20 minutes, crews were able to free the girl from suffocating concrete and lift her up to safety.

After being unearthed, the teen was rushed to the hospital alive because of rescuers working together to save her life.  The girl was transported to Nebraska Medical Center with critical injuries.

The Omaha Fire Department says crews train “hundreds of hours” a year for these dangerous situations.