Young girl killed when a hole she dug in the sand collapsed on a Florida beach, authorities say

Investigators on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., take photos of the scene of a sand collapse on Tuesday. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday.

Investigators on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., take photos of the scene of a sand collapse on Tuesday. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday. (Mike Stocker, South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)


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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, authorities said.

Emergency crews responding about 3 p.m. to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea found the boy, who is about 8 years old, buried up to his chest in sand, said Sandra King, a spokeswoman for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

The girl, about 7 years old, was completely buried underneath the boy, King told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The hole was 5 or 6 feet deep when the collapse happened, she said.

Rescuers used support boards to keep more sand from collapsing in as they used shovels to dig the children out, King said. She didn't know how long they were buried.

The girl was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, where she was pronounced dead, King said. The boy was hospitalized and had been stabilized.

It wasn't immediately known whether an adult was helping the children dig the hole.

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