Girl dies, boy hospitalised after getting buried in sand while digging hole at popular Florida beach

Tragedy struck when the girl, who is believed to have been about seven years old, dug a 5 to 6-foot-deep hole at a beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

A young girl died after a hole she dug on a popular Florida beach collapsed. She got tragically buried, along with another boy who was helping her. The boy survived.

Representational image (Pixabay)

Tragedy struck when the girl, who is believed to have been about seven years old, dug a 5 to 6-foot-deep hole at a beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday afternoon, February 20. According to NBC Miami, it caved in on her and the other child, also believed to be seven. While the girl got completely buried, the boy was buried up to his chest.

The fatal collapse

“It was an unfathomable accident,” Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King told the Miami Herald. Firefighters had to clear the sand away with shovels and boards in an attempt to save the girl. However, by the time she was rescued, she had stopped breathing. She was taken to Broward Health Medical Center while paramedics tried to revive her. The child was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

“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.

The boy is now in stable condition. The identities of the children have not been revealed, and it is unclear if they were locals or tourists. An investigation is underway into how the collapse happened.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a popular location, and the beach is one of the main attractions. Tripadvisor says of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, “With 2.5 miles of beautiful beaches, an iconic pier and lovely ocean vistas, Lauderdale by the Sea is a small community that attracts visitors from around the world. Here low-rise downtown buildings and mid-century modern architecture exude old Florida charm, even as they celebrate the town’s present-day connection to the ocean — most hotels, restaurants and shops are just a few minutes’ walk from Anglin’s Square, a charming oceanfront gathering place.”