Virginia Teenager Dies After He Is Buried in Sand From Dune Collapse
The 17-year-old was trapped under several feet of sand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina.
Officials said that a teenager from Chesapeake in Virginia died on Saturday after being buried under several feet of sand in a hole dug at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, in North Carolina.
National Park Service released a statement saying that the 17-year old boy was trapped when sand from an adjacent dune fell into the hole. The National Park Service said that the area of the back-dune where the boy was trapped was not visible on the beachfront.
Seashore rangers had responded to a call for help at around 2 pm. The teenager's family and friends were searching for him themselves. The hole was located about a 10th of a miles east of an off road vehicle ramp on Hatteras Island, Frisco, N.C.
The service released a statement saying that 'Rangers assisted family members in extracting the teen, while performing CPR at the same time'.
The service reported that emergency responders from Dare County Emergency Medical Services, Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue and Dare County Emergency Medical Services joined the rescue effort. They administered CPR. The cause of death is still under investigation.
David Hallac said that the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent, David Hallac offered his condolences in a statement. We urge beachgoers to avoid digging deep holes because they can be dangerous to emergency responders and beachgoers.
It was not possible to reach the National Park Service for further details about the investigation.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a 70-mile stretch of barrier islands that stretches from Bodie Island up to Ocracoke Island, and is located along North Carolina's Atlantic coastline. National Park Service says the park was created in 1937 to preserve the area as the first national seashore.
Cape Hatteras' beach, dunes, grassland habitats, shrub thickets, maritime forests and salt marshes are constantly changing. The landscape is attractive to many tourists.
In the past, sand collapses caused serious injuries and even deaths in other dunes and sand preserves across the country.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office reported that a 35-year old man died in August on Hutchinson Island, Florida, after he was trapped under sand when capturing video of a sunset. Utah State Parks released a statement last year stating that a Utah teenager, who was digging a tunnel in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in the southwest corner, had died when he got trapped under sand.