Man trapped in sand for hours has been freed

A man who became trapped in sand in Hervey Bay on Queensland's Fraser Coast sparking a desperate rescue effort has been freed.

The 29-year-old was trapped for several hours before witnesses heard him calling for help around 11.30am and notified emergency services.

Police say the man is known to them and may have been affected by drugs and chasing a "bearded dragon" when the "sinkhole" opened up beneath him and he became buried up to his chin.

Emergency crews worked for hours with shovels, buckets and their bare hands and an excavator was called in to move more sand.

The man was freed shortly after 3pm after the area had been secured.

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