digging a horizontal tunnel. >> i felt a little bit of sand on my leg come down. little chunks. then the whole thing just came down. tried to back out when i felt the sand on my legs but it was too late. happened too fast. >> meena screams and shakes his head side to side to keep sand off his face. he created a pocket to help him breathe. >> he created just enough pocket to have enough air to survive. that's what gave us that time to find him and rescue him. >> as he begins to feel the weight of the sand, meena passes out which likely helps keep him alive while everyone on the surface searches for him. >> matt had been down there screaming trying to move his head and pump his arms, one he could have lost that void space. it could have been collapsed in on him. and two, he would have been using up the precious oxygen that was in there. >> meena is carted away in an ambulance and only later do rescuers understand he escapes without injury.