While millions of Americans vacation on beaches every year to seek out sun, sand and the sea, many might not realize how dangerous digging holes in the sand can be. In February 2024, a 7-year-old girl died after an approximately 5-foot (1.5-meter) hole she and her brother dug in the sand collapsed in on her, burying her alive.
As a coastal science researcher who’s been studying beaches for many years, I was called in to help investigate the girl’s death. While many people nearby stepped in to try to free the girl after the sand hole collapsed, local firefighters couldn’t arrive until several minutes after the incident – too late to resuscitate the victim.
While millions of Americans vacation on beaches every year to seek out sun, sand and the sea, many might not realize how dangerous digging holes in the sand can be. In February 2024, a 7-year-old girl died after an approximately 5-foot (1.5-meter) hole she and her brother dug in the sand collapsed in on her, burying her alive.
As a coastal science researcher who’s been studying beaches for many years, I was called in to help investigate the girl’s death. While many people nearby stepped in to try to free the girl after the sand hole collapsed, local firefighters couldn’t arrive until several minutes after the incident – too late to resuscitate the victim.
A young girl suffocated in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., after a sand hole collapsed on her in February.
Digging holes in sand might seem innocent, but if the hole is deep enough and collapses on a person, it is extremely difficult to escape. In fact, research suggests more people die from sand burial suffocation than from shark attacks.
Sand basics
Sand isn’t actually a type of material. It’s a category of material size, ranging from 0.0025 to 0.08 inches (0.06 to 2 millimeters) in diameter. The type of sand is determined by the materials making it up. Quartz sand, made up of silicon dioxide, is the most common sand found on beaches, except at tropical coasts where coral sand beaches, made up of calcium carbonate, are found.
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