LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLA. (WSVN) - A little girl has died and a boy remains hospitalized after they fell into a hole on the beach at Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Fire Rescue arrived at the scene in the area of 4424 El Mar Drive, Tuesday afternoon.
7Skyforce hovered over the scene, where safety cones and yellow tape surrounded the hole at the beach.
According to Pompano Beach officials, the little girl died at the hospital.
Witnesses said two children were inside the hole. One of the children, a little boy, was in the hole but had his head out of the sand while another child, a little girl, was still covered by the sand. Once inside the hole, the sand collapsed on the children. They said the little girl seemed to be in much rougher shape than the little boy.
Bystanders said they believe the hole was five to six feet deep.
“The boy was three or four feet down but at that point, his head was above the sand. I guess his sister was beside him and she was down further. They tried to dig her out, the more the sand collapsed. They tried putting boards to try and keep the sand from falling in She was down for quite awhile,” said witness David Davies.
“So many sirens,” said another person.
One witness guessed the children’s ages to be around 7-year-old.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, at one point there were 20 people were trying to dig the children out of the sand.
One of the people, speaking to 7News, said he has two daughters and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I don’t know what happened but I have 2 daughters, so I run right to it,” said the person.
“We have 20 people digging trying to find the child. The child is about 8-years-old,” said the dispatcher.
The children were removed from the hole and were transported to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this before, especially with the size of that hole right there, it’s crazy,” said one person who helped dig the kids out.
“How are you doing watching something like that?” asked the reporter.
“It’s tough, it’s tough,” said Davies.
As one of the children arrived at the hospital, they were receiving chest compressions.
At the hospital, the little boy, as well as his other loved ones, waited in the emergency room, clearly upset.
Beach goers said they had no idea what was going on until they saw the commotion.
“It’s horrifying, it’s horrible,” said Carol Kulkin.
It is unclear if the children are local or from out of town. The relationship of the children is also unknown. Officials also don’t know how the hole in the sand was created.
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