Boy dies after sand dune collapses at Outer Banks; visitors urged to not dig holes

 A teenager who became trapped after a sand dune collapsed and buried him on Saturday has died, the National Park Service said in a statement.

The 17-year-old boy from Chesapeake, Virginia, whose identity had not been released by authorities, was buried underneath several feet of sand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, officials said.

The teenager was inside a hole that was not visible from the beachfront and had been dug in a back-dune area. The seashore stretches over 70 miles and is part of the Outer Banks, a popular tourist destination on the North Carolina coast.

Law enforcement responded to an emergency call at about 2 p.m. after the teenager’s friends and family had been looking for him on their own.

“Rangers worked with family members to extract the teen while simultaneously performing CPR,” the service said in a statement.

Officials caution not to dig holes in uncertain landscape

Serious injury and deaths at other dunes and sandy preserves have occurred elsewhere around the country, including a 13-year-old boy who died from injuries a day after a sand dune he was digging in collapsed and buried him at Utah's Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

Visitors of Cape Hatteras, an ever-changing landscape with beach, dune, grassland, shrub thicket, maritime forest and salt marsh habitats, should not dig holes, officials said.

Previously:Texas tourist dies after sand collapse on Florida beach

Six feet of sand:13-year-old Utah boy dies after sand dune he was digging in collapsed

“Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers our condolences to his family and friends,” David Hallac, the superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said in the statement. “We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff.”

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