Teen rescued had tunneled 7 feet under beach sand

Officials warn of beach tunneling after boy buried for 20 minutes

Newport Beach authorities say a teenager buried under beach sand for 20 minutes Wednesday was taking part in a dangerous activity known as "tunneling."

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In Newport Beach, lifeguards and beach-goers frantically dug for 20 minutes before rescuing the teen, who was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover.

The incident occurred near 54th Street shortly after 3:30 p.m. The boy dug for an hour to create the hole. The sides collapsed, burying him.

"This gentleman was about 7 feet below the surface of the sand," Newport Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Boyles told KTLA News. "He was doing what we call tunneling, which is a very dangerous operation. The sand collapsed on him, essentially burying him alive."

Boyles said such incidents have a "high fatality rate."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/lifeguards-warn-of-dangerous-beach-tunneling-after-teen-rescued.html

has got to be right up near the top.

Gonna have to read article to my kids who are always building huge forts and the beach and don't understand why I wont let them add roofs to their forts...

idiot.

I'm sure that fire chief really wanted to say "This MORON was about 7 feet below the surface of the sand," but propriety prevented him from expressing his true regard concerning the matter.

was he using something other than a shovel? and where was he trying to tunnel to??

If you know how to work with them, you can use him to really aerate the soil in your garden.