The man who fell into five-foot hole and was buried alive in sand on Bribie Island has been identified as Josh Taylor.

Queensland Paramedics and an RACQ Lifeflight rescue helicopter crew were called to help the 25-year-old man after he fell into a hole and was buried in sand on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, just before 2pm.

Nathan, a witness to the incident who helped dig Taylor out, told 7 News that the hole had been dug to cook a pig in.

“He stood up off the chair, the sand had given away a little bit underneath him,” he said.

“He stumbled back. He’d put his arms out to obviously to break the fall, he’s continued going down and knocked sand as he’s put his arms out.

“He was that deep in the hole that you could not see him, his feet, unless you were standing on top of the hole.”

A herd of people came to Taylor’s aide, digging him out before tying a rope to his feet to pull him from the hole.

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

“That’s when the paramedic was like pull him this way .. . the suction gave way and he popped out.

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

Taylor’s family are by his side at the Princess Alexandra hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition, The Courier Mail reported.

Nathan was leaving the beach with his family when a group of men ran over yelling for help to rescue their friend from under the sand, he told NCA NewsWire.

When he arrived at the scene, the 25-year-old’s family and friends were desperately digging to to get him out.

Nathan was leaving the beach with his family when a group of men ran over yelling for help to rescue their friend from under the sand, he told NCA NewsWire.

“I realized someone was head first in a hole and I was just digging digging digging…” he said.

“When I first went up to the hole, I couldn’t even see his foot. That’s how deep it was,” he said.

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“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,” he said.