UPDATED (3:28 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3)

Two girls were rescued Sunday from a newly dug home foundation they were playing in after mud from the walls loosened and buried them, Tinley Park Police report. Nicole Salwierak, 11, and Sarah Miranda, 12, were not seriously injured and were taken to area hospitals to be evaluated, said Nicole's father, Robert.

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The girls had been playing with other kids from the neighborhood in the excavation hole that was dug for a new home being built at 18307 White Oak Lane, Robert Salwierak said. The Salwieraks—Robert, his wife, Sandra, and their four children—live across the street from the lot. Sarah and her family also live in the subdivision, and the girls attend Hilda Walker Intermediate School together. "The first thing was my heart fell into my stomach," Salwierak said about his reaction when his youngest daughter called him on his cell phone to tell him about the accident. He was nearby at his parents' house when Nicole became trapped.

"I was speechless, thinking about her laying there, buried alive, praying they were going to be OK," he added.

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Emergency crews from Tinley, as well as trained rescuers from Orland Park, Oak Forest, Flossmoor, South Holland and other nearby communities, responded at around 11:58 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, and began digging the girls out by hand, the police press release stated. It took crews about a half hour to free the two, Salwierak said. The emergency works said the way Nicole and Sarah fell was particularly fortunate, especially for Sarah, Salwierak said. As the torrent of mud and dirt completely buried Sarah and covered Nicole up to her neck, the way in which Nicole fell on top of Sarah created an air pocket that contained enough oxygen for the 12-year-old to be able to breathe for the 45 minutes the dirt was on top of her, Salwierak said. In fact, Sarah was able to talk during the rescue, and people could hear her asking for her mother, Salwierak said.