Investigators believe a 13-year-old boy died in Utah on Sunday after the tunnel he dug into the side of a sand dune at a state park collapsed with him at the interior, the parks system said.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday at a campground in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the State Parks Division said in a statement Monday.
The boy, Ian Spendlove, of Santa Clara, Utah, was dug under 6½ feet of sand and was airlifted to a hospital in St. George and then Salt Lake City, but by Sunday he had not regained function cerebral and was pronounced dead, according to the statement.
A family member saw the collapse, and they, bystanders and park staff began digging for him, the parks division said. Law enforcement also arrived with shovels.
“The Utah State Parks Division extends its condolences to the friends and family of Ian Spendlove affected by this tragedy. The incident is still under investigation,” it added. .
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southern Utah near the Arizona border contains about 1,500 acres of sand dunes and is part of a larger dune field, according to park officials.
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