Five-year-old girl died after digging a large hole in the sand

Slan Mattingly died despite the efforts of volunteers to save her. Photo: WSVN

A five-year-old girl died and her nine-year-old brother was taken to the hospital after a sand pit they were digging in Florida collapsed on them.

Sloan and Maddox Mattingly of Indiana were playing on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-More, 33 miles north of Miami, when a hole opened up.

Furious beachgoers used their bare hands to try to dig the children out of the five-foot-deep sand hole before emergency services arrived.

Investigators on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea photograph the area where a young girl died after being buried in the sand. Photo: MIKE STOKER/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

An eyewitness told a local news outlet: “You saw grown men digging with shovels and buckets, and no one could find her.”

It is unclear how long the children were trapped in the sandbox on the beach, which is not supervised by lifeguards, but by the time rescuers arrived on the scene, Maddox was chest-deep in sand and Sloan was nowhere to be seen.

< p>Rescue teams used shovels and propped up boards to prevent further sand collapse in a desperate attempt to dig out the children.

'An unfathomable accident'

When the girl was found, she had no pulse, said Sandra King, a fire department spokeswoman. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

She described the tragedy as an «unfathomable accident.»

The children were rushed to nearby Broward Medical Center while paramedics tried in vain to revive Sloane.

“We used life-saving techniques to try to get her pulse back, but it never came back and she was pronounced dead. dead in hospital.»

«Our hearts are heavy today at LBTS after learning that two children were trapped in the sand,» the City of Lauderdale-by-the-The-Sea said in a statement. C on Facebook.

Sand pits are a known risk. Just last week, a toddler was trapped on a Jersey Shore beach, but his panic-stricken father was able to save him.

Last May, a 17-year-old boy from Chesapeake, Virginia, died. when a sand dune collapsed on him at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Frisco, North Carolina.

It was the fourth such death in just 12 months, according to one estimate. Holes pose a greater risk to beachgoers than shark attacks.

«Holes are dangerous»

The American Life Saving Association has long warned of the dangers of sand pits.

Wyatt Wernet, a spokesman for the association, said, “This is something we see every day.”

” What We're Wrong With what often happens is tragic events. What we will do is close the holes before they get to the point where they collapse.

“These holes are dangerous. The sand is very liquid. When you dig a hole, it begins to fill, and this is something to be aware of.

“This is a completely preventable problem. If you swim in front of the lifeguards or go to the protected part of the beach where they are, they will not allow this.

“They will ask you to stop and fill the hole. Most rescue websites have warnings about digging holes.

“Moms, dads, uncles, family members need to know if their children are doing something that could be dangerous. You are dealing with Mother Nature, you must be aware of the dangers and act accordingly.

“You must leave the natural environment as you found it.”