Virginia teen dies from sand hole collapse in North Carolina

By BEN FINLEY
Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a teenager who became trapped in a hole that was dug in the sand on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The 17-year-old male died Saturday in the small resort town of Frisco along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The National Park Service said the teenager was trapped in a hole that was dug in a back-dune area behind the beach’s primary dune. Several feet of sand from an adjacent dune had apparently collapsed into the hole. Collapsing sand holes have claimed dozens of lives of young people over the decades. The weight of the sand makes it difficult for people to breathe, while the sand can enter people’s lungs.