Teen dies after sand collapses while digging huge hole on beach
A teenager has died while playing at a beach with his sister after a hole they were digging in the sand collapsed on top of them.
The 18 year old, identified as Levy Caverley, was visiting Jersey Shore with his family from their home state of Maine, in the US, when the tragic incident occurred on Tuesday.
Emergency services were called to the beach shortly after 4pm (local time), police said, as bystanders worked to dig them out until help arrived.
The teen's 17-year-old sister – whose head was reportedly still above the sand – was able to be rescued and treated at the scene.
But the boy died during the collapse, Tom River Police Department said in a statement.
"The teens were reportedly digging a large hole when it collapsed and trapped both of them," they wrote on Facebook.
"Emergency crews from neighbouring towns also responded to the scene to assist in rescue efforts."
A witness who'd called emergency services said the hole – which they made using frisbees – was about six feet deep when it collapsed, ABC News reported.
Emergency services used boards and buckets to try to reach the young man.
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The mother of the siblings, Angela Caverly, has since spoken out about the tragic incident.
She told NJ.com that her daughter, who survived the accident, was "physically ok" and was able to drive to the family home in Maine from Jersey Shore on Wednesday, the New York Post reported.
Ms Caverly said her son "loved music" and "was trying to learn computer coding".
"Levi was himself. He was odd. He was quirky. He was not real concerned with what others thought," his dad Todd Caverly said in a statement, according to ABC News.
Just last week, a 13-year-old boy died in the US state of Utah after a tunnel he'd been digging in a sand dune collapsed, NBC News reported.
And in 2014, a nine-year-old girl died at an Oregon beach, also in the US, when the sand below her collapsed, suffocating her.
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