MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – We've all seen pictures on Facebook of kids burying themselves in the sand, but now we're learning it can lead to a life-or-death situation after a 9-year-old girl died while digging a hole at the beach.
"Once it caved in, it digs the person," said Miami Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Luiz Morizot. "(In) some cases we have seen (it take) 38 minutes to get the person out of the hole."
In a demonstration put on by the Fire Department using dummies, they showed just how dangerous the activity can be. Three men who were digging quickly, knowing exactly where the dummy was, took just over three minutes to rescue the dummy.
"College swimmers dug a hole for about six hours, but as little as 2 feet have collapsed and killed 3- or 4-year-olds," Morizot said.
The good news, Morizot said, is that preventing this sort of disaster is fairly simple -- don't dig holes at the beach.