The unnamed 18-year-old likely became stuck under several feet of sand after an adjacent dune collapsed into the hole he was digging.
A teen was killed on Outer Banks beach after becoming trapped under several feet of sand, according to a statement by the National Parks Service.
The 18-year-old from Chesapeake, Virginia, had been on a trip to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Frisco, North Carolina.
The boy, who was not named, is believed to have been digging a deep hole in the sand when an adjacent dune collapsed into it, burying him under several feet of sand, according to the statement.
The area he had been digging is not visible from the road, and friends and family discovered he was buried when they went looking for him, officials said.
When park rangers and emergency medical services arrived on the scene, they were able to extract him from the whole while simultaneously administering CPR, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
“We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff,” National Parks of Eastern North Carolina spokesperson David Hallac said in the statement.
It is also nesting season, and digging deep holes in the sand disrupts wildlife in the area, like sea turtles.
Officials are continuing to investigate the incident.
