Sand tunnel collapses: tragic deaths not uncommon
A 12-year-old boy died on Tuesday in Long Branch, New Jersey, after a sand tunnel he was digging collapsed on him.
While exact records are not kept, anecdotal evidence suggests such accidents are not uncommon. In the 20-year period between 1990 and 2010, were at least 16 sand tunnel collapses at beaches, according to CBS News.
In 2007, the New England Journal of Medicine found 52 fatal and non-fatal collapses in the preceding 20 year period. In many cases, the victims become completely submerged in sand, with little to trace of where the tunnel had been or the victim.
Some of the more recent cases include:
- August 2012: A 17-year-old boy was buried alive for 30 minutes and rescued after a sand tunnel at Newport Beach, California, collapsed on him.
- July 2012: A 24-year-old man was rescued after a sand tunnel he was digging Rehoboth, Delaware, caved in.
- June 2011: A 17-year-old boy in Watsonville, California, was left in a permanent vegetative state after digging a 6-foot-deep hole that collapsed.
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