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Fort Worth 7 Year Old dies in sand hole collapse playing on beach

Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:17 am
Posted by Corinthians420
Iowa
Member since Jun 2022
6452 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:17 am
I don't really like posting sad stuff like this but this is sorta a warning. Watch your children when digging holes on the beach and make sure they don't dig too deep. Apparently deep holes can collapse and multiple adults won't be able to dig children out fast enough to save them even with shovels.
LINK
quote:

Sloan Mattingly was identified Wednesday as the 7-year-old girl who died, and 9-year-old Maddox Mattingly is her older brother who was critically injured.

“Don't tell us you’re sorry for our loss – don’t do that to us," their mother wrote on Facebook. "We experienced the purest human being and we are forever changed by her. We love you beyond any stretch of the imagination. Our sweet Sloan. What we would give."


quote:

Detectives say the children and their parents were on vacation from Indiana -- and that the children were digging a hole in the sand when they became trapped.

The two children were taken to the hospital in critical condition. BSO later confirmed that the girl died.

Witnesses said the children were digging the hole and playing around before the ground gave way. The sand hole was about 5- to 6-feet deep, according to Sandra King, a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

Cellphone video from a witness showed desperate beachgoers using their hands to dig sand out of the hole as they tried to rescue the kids trapped underneath.

Rescuers used support boards to keep sand from collapsing further in as they used shovels with the help of good Samaritans to dig the children out, King said. She said it wasn't clear how long they were buried
This post was edited on 2/22/24 at 7:20 am
Posted by TheSheriffIsNear
Member since Feb 2024
34 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:24 am to
Awful

But the chance of this happening to my kids is about the same as their chance of dying from covid (0.000000000001%)
This post was edited on 2/22/24 at 7:25 am
Posted by Fat and Happy
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2013
16975 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:27 am to
Interesting thing about sand or dirt when it caves in is even if you have get air to you mouth and nose, the sand or dirt basically suffocates you

So when you breath and your lungs expand and then contract, when your torso goes in from the exhale, the dirt or sand takes the place of the room you had to expand your lungs

So basically breathing is actually killing you because the weight of the sediment won’t let you breathe eventually
Posted by Corinthians420
Iowa
Member since Jun 2022
6452 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:29 am to
quote:

But the chance of this happening to my kids is about the same as their chance of dying from covid (0.000000000001%)

True, but I see kids digging like this all the time when I visit the beach so I guess not everyone knows it's dangerous to dig deep holes.
Posted by Corinthians420
Iowa
Member since Jun 2022
6452 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:29 am to
quote:

Interesting thing about sand or dirt when it caves in is even if you have get air to you mouth and nose, the sand or dirt basically suffocates you

So when you breath and your lungs expand and then contract, when your torso goes in from the exhale, the dirt or sand takes the place of the room you had to expand your lungs

So basically breathing is actually killing you because the weight of the sediment won’t let you breathe eventually

Well that sounds like a frickin nightmare
Posted by TDFreak
Dodge Charger Aficionado
Member since Dec 2009
7354 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:30 am to
quote:

The sand hole was about 5- to 6-feet deep, according to Sandra King, a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

Wow. That is major deep. In sand.

Per OSHA, any construction trench greater than 4 feet must have a ladder for exit and egress. And they need to provide a protective system beginning at five feet.
Posted by LSUNWO1988
Member since Feb 2024
405 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:35 am to
Can’t even imagine the horror of seeing your child die like that
Posted by Clark W Griswold
THE USA
Member since Sep 2012
10506 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:42 am to
We always dig holes but I’ve never seen anyone dig a hole that deep and play in it. That’s bad parenting for sure. I understand it’s an accident but you can’t just let your kids do whatever they want.
Posted by CocomoLSU
Inside your dome.
Member since Feb 2004
150582 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:43 am to
Damn, that sucks and is incredibly sad.
quote:

“Don't tell us you’re sorry for our loss – don’t do that to us,"

Okay then.
Posted by GetCocky11
Calgary, AB
Member since Oct 2012
51253 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:44 am to
quote:

But the chance of this happening to my kids is about the same as their chance of dying from covid (0.000000000001%)



Ehhh....go to any construction site with a hole >= 5ft deep and you'll see protection measures in place because of the risks.
Posted by FLTech
the A
Member since Sep 2017
12269 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:44 am to
For some reason this one really hits me. Just a normal day with a family on vacation and something like this happens at the blink of an eye. It’s such a horrible story. Can’t imagine what the family is going through and what they were going through during the entire time trying to save that little girl. It’s just an awful story
Posted by Jcorye1
Tom Brady = GoAT
Member since Dec 2007
71347 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:46 am to
quote:

5- to 6-feet deep


I'd be nervous that people walking by would get hurt at that point.
Posted by CocomoLSU
Inside your dome.
Member since Feb 2004
150582 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:46 am to
quote:

True, but I see kids digging like this all the time when I visit the beach so I guess not everyone knows it's dangerous to dig deep holes.

You see holes that deep "all the time?" I see kids playing around with shovels at the beach, but rarely (if ever) see holes "5-6 feet deep." That seems like a REALLY deep hole, especially on a beach.

I'm not blaming the parents necessarily, but when you can't even see your kids and they can't even climb out of the hole they are digging, it may be time to rein that in a bit.
This post was edited on 2/22/24 at 7:48 am
Posted by GetCocky11
Calgary, AB
Member since Oct 2012
51253 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:48 am to
quote:

That seems like a REALLY deep hole, especially on a beach.


It was probably really narrow too.
Posted by Northshore Aggie
Mandeville, LA
Member since Sep 2022
4561 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:49 am to
My little brother almost died like this in high school. Him and some buddies dug a huge hole in the side of a sand dune and it collapsed on him. He was already unconscious when they got him out but fortunately still breathing and he kind of just snapped back. Another minute or two and he would have been dead.
Posted by CocomoLSU
Inside your dome.
Member since Feb 2004
150582 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:51 am to
quote:

It was probably really narrow too.

Has to be if it's just kids digging with beach shovels.

There's no way that was wide enough to be safe from a cave in.

I wonder if they were digging underneath the sand at all (like making a cave of sorts) or if it was just a cave in of sand surrounding the hole. Either way, I can't imagine that feeling of the parents when it happens and what that is like, and I don't I want to.
Posted by Corinthians420
Iowa
Member since Jun 2022
6452 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:52 am to
quote:

My little brother almost died like this in high school. Him and some buddies dug a huge hole in the side of a sand dune and it collapsed on him. He was already unconscious when they got him out but fortunately still breathing and he kind of just snapped back. Another minute or two and he would have been dead.

Jesus. Crazy it could even happen to an older teenager.

I guess if you never hear about it, it's possible to not think about collapses
Posted by kengel2
Team Gun
Member since Mar 2004
30731 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 7:55 am to
quote:

Apparently deep holes can collapse


No shite.
Posted by sidewalkside
rent free in yo head
Member since Sep 2021
1614 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 8:00 am to
quote:

Fort Worth


quote:

the children and their parents were on vacation from Indiana


Do you mean Fort Wayne???
Posted by Motorboat
At the camp
Member since Oct 2007
22666 posts
Posted on 2/22/24 at 8:03 am to
quote:

You see holes that deep "all the time?" I see kids playing around with shovels at the beach, but rarely (if ever) see holes "5-6 feet deep."


My kids are too lazy to dig a hole that size
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