Girl Dead and Boy Hospitalized After Being Buried in Sinkhole on South Florida Beach
The girl and boy had been playing in a six-feet hole at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea before it collapsed on top of them Tuesday afternoon
CBS Miami/Youtube
The sink hole on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-SeaA young girl has died and a boy has been hospitalized after being buried in a collapsed sand hole at a South Florida beach.
The tragic incident occurred at around 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday after the girl was playing in a sand hole that was six-feet deep with a boy in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, authorities confirmed, per ABC News, CBS News and NBC 6 South Florida. The exact ages of the children, who were siblings, have not been confirmed, but Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King confirmed to the Miami Herald that they were both under 8 years old.
The hole collapsed on the children, completely burying the girl underneath the boy, who was trapped up to his chest, King said, per ABC News.
It is not known how long the girl and boy were buried.
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea beachFootage shared by CBS News Miami shows beach visitors and emergency responders attempting to rescue the children by digging them out of the sand.
Emergency crews eventually pulled the girl and boy out from the sunken hole as they used support boards to stop more sand from coming in on the children, reported ABC News.
The children were transported to Broward General Medical Center where the girl was pronounced dead, per ABC News, CBS News and NBC 6 South Florida.
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The boy is currently in a stable condition, according to the outlets.
“It was an unfathomable accident,” King told the Miami Herald. “We were conducting life-saving techniques to try to bring her pulse back, and it never did recover, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital."
CBS News reported that some adults may have been helping the girl and boy dig the hole prior to its collapse, though they have not been identified.
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“I've lived here 50 years, I’ve never seen anything like that,” a resident told the outlet following the incident. “I’m shocked. I’m absolutely shocked. I had no idea that digging out … something could happen where it could collapse underneath someone just hanging out and playing on the beach.”
An investigation has now been opened following the incident, led by the Broward Sheriff's Office.
PEOPLE contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
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