On Tuesday Feb 20, a girl digging a hole of sand on a Fort Lauderdale beach was killed. The girl and her brother were casually digging a hole on the beach when it suddenly collapsed, burying both of them. 

Sloan and Maddox Mattingly were the two names involved in this incident. As soon as the hole collapsed, it completely buried Sloan while only partially burying Maddox. Many bystanders immediately stepped in to try to get Sloan out, but as they pushed away sand more and more took its place. 

According to an NPR article, a variety of news reports and a 2007 medical study conclude that 3 to 5 children in the United States die each year due to sand hole digging at the beach. Those included in these other deaths are a 17 year old who was buried at a North Carolina beach last year, as well as a 13 year old who was digging at Utah State. 

Lifeguards are now preaching that parents should be more careful when letting their children dig holes at the beach.

Shawn DeRosa, who runs a firm that trains lifeguards, said “Many people don’t think through the risks in allowing children to dig deep or wide holes.”