Rescue attempts to uncover two small children, aged six and seven, who were buried under thousands of pounds of dirt on Sunday turned into one of body recovery, hours after futile attempts to retrieve the children alive failed yesterday.

The two cousins, Chloe Jade Arwood, aged six, and James Levi Caldwell, aged seven, had gone into the pit in Lincoln County, North Carolina to recover a toy pickaxe when the wall of the excavation site collapsed, burying the children under several feet of dirt.

The horrifying incident took place behind the house at their grandparents home about 20 miles northwest of Charlotte. The father of one of the children had been digging the pit on Sunday afternoon and reports say that he was nearby when the pit collapsed.

911 was called imediately after the mishap and an army of 75 rescuers converged on the site. Digging with hands and shovels, rescuers searched in vain for hours. Heavy equipment was not used because searchers were unsure at what depth the children were buried.

By evening, heavy equipment was brought into the site to assist in shoring up the walls to prevent further collapse as the crew of searchers continued the unccovering throughout the night.

One of the children’s remains were uncovered and retrieved at 6 am this morning, followed by the discovery of the second body about an hour later.

It was said by the family that the 20x20x25 foot deep excavation was to be a basement at the site. It is being questioned why the area had to be so deep for construction of a basement and authorities have begun an investigation into the purpose of the dig.

Later on Monday, Deputies from the Sheriff’s Department found and confiscated a firearm as well as a marijuana plant from the mobile home on the premises. The father was found to be a convicted felon barred from any gun ownership. He had been convicted in 2003 on drug charges.