Teenager dies in sand dune collapse in Outer Banks
An investigation continues into the death of a 17-year-old after he became buried under mounds of sand.
Dunes at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A 17-year-old has died after a sand dune collapsed on top of him in the Outer Banks in North Carolina, according to National Park Service officials.
The teenage boy from Chesapeake, Virginia, had reportedly become trapped in a hole in a back-dune area of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Frisco, North Carolina, Saturday. The area is behind the primary dune and is not visible from the beachfront.
Emergency crews responded to a 911 call around 2 p.m. after family and friends had gone looking for the teenager and found him buried under several feet of sand about 520 feet east of an off-road ramp. Officials said the adjacent dune appeared to have collapsed into the hole.
Park rangers as well as personnel from Dare County Emergency Medical Services and Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue helped to remove the teenager and performed CPR, but they were not successful in resuscitating him.
"Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers our condolences to his family and friends," David Hallac, the superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said in a news release. "We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff."
The teen's death remains under investigation.
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