NIGHTMARE IN THE SAND: Playing in Sand Kills Teen Boy, Traps Sister

A Maine 18-year-old vacationing with his family at the Jersey Shore died Tuesday when a large hole he and his 17-year-old sister were digging with frisbees collapsed on them.

Emergency crews responded to the scene at Toms River just after 4 p.m., WNBC reported. The girl was rescued, but Levi Caverley was trapped under the shifting sand, and rescuers could not reach him in time.

Toms River Mayor Mo Hill told the station that the teens dug a 10-foot hole in the sand with frisbees before it collapsed.

WABC reported emergency radio traffic as crews, some from neighboring towns, raced to the scene.

“One is still buried up to the chest,” one said. “Another one is below the sand.”

“One is completely submerged under the sand, probably approximately 10 feet,” another said.

The crews used ladders, buckets of water, and heavy machinery in a desperate attempt to reach both teens.

Authorities caution that sand is not a stable element for digging large holes. A 13-year-old boy died on Monday after he was trapped Saturday in a tunnel he was reportedly digging beneath a sand dune in Utah’s Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Ian Spendlove was still alive when rescuers got him out of the collapse, KUTV said, but he never regained consciousness.

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[Featured image: WNBC screenshot]