21 February 2024 , 11:41
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A young girl has died after a sand hole she was digging with another boy on a Florida beach collapsed and caved in on her.
The girl, believed to be around seven years old, was playing on a beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Fort Lauderdale when the tragic incident happened. Alongside a seven-year-old boy, the girl had dug a five to six-foot-deep hole in the sand when it caved in.
The children were digging with some adults when the hole collapsed, according to officials. The girl was completely buried in the sand, while the boy was buried up to his chest.
Desperate beachgoers and first responders were seen using their hands and support boards to try and rescue the children shortly after 3pm on Tuesday. Both the girl and boy were eventually pulled out and taken to Broward Health Medical Center.
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The children were playing on a beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Fort Lauderdale when the tragic incident happened (CBS)The girl was pronounced dead on arrival. The boy, however, remains in a stable condition, according to NBC Miami.
Images taken from above show the sand hole surrounded by cones, with police tape cordoning the area off. Broward Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.
Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King told the Miami Herald that it was an "unfathomable accident". King revealed the young girl had stopped breathing by the time she was rescued.
“We were conducting life-saving techniques to try to bring her pulse back, and it never did recover, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital,” King said. How long the young girl was trapped underneath the sand has not been revealed.
Desperate beachgoers and first responders were seen using their hands and support boards to try and rescue the children (CBS)The identities of the girl and boy have not yet been revealed. It's unclear if the children were locals or tourists visiting the beach.
“I mean you saw grown men digging with shovels and buckets and nobody could find her,” a witness told Local 10 News Christian De La Rosa. “I guess when the wall caved in she may have been laying flat and so maybe it just kind of pancaked her. The dad was able to pull his son out but the daughter was still underneath the sand.”
Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed they have launched an investigation. A spokesperson said: “On scene, emergency personnel located the two children, a young boy and girl. Both were taken to hospitals for treatment. The investigation into this incident is ongoing.”