At least 20 people in the U.S. have died in collapsing sand incidents since 1985.
A family’s day at the beach turned into tragedy when a hole two teens were digging in the sand caved in, killing one of them.
Levi Caverly, 18, and his family had traveled from Maine to the Jersey Shore for their vacation. Authorities say the brother and sister were using frisbees to dig a hole 10 feet deep when the accident happened.
“One is still buried up to the chest. Another one is below the sand,” a first responder said.
The 17-year-old sister was rescued, but Levi didn’t make it.
In a heartbreaking tribute posted on Facebook, grieving dad Todd Caverly writes, “Your world can be forever changed in a second, with no warning, and no second chance."
Levi’s death is the latest sand-collapse horror.
Video shows the frantic effort to save a young man in 2014 in Northern California after a hole collapsed on him. After 30 minutes of digging, firefighters reached the young man’s lifeless body. The cause of death was suffocation from sand hole entrapment.
Hugh Boyd, lifeguard chief for Seaside Heights, New Jersey, says a good rule of thumb is to never dig a hole deep enough for the top to go above your knees.
Boyd says time is of the essence if a hole in the sand should collapse and efforts should be focused on clearing away from the chest.
At least 20 people in the U.S. have died in collapsing sand incidents since 1985.
