A teenager stuck in a 5-foot-deep hole at the beach in Newport was rescued by lifeguards and firefighters after friends were unable to pull him from the sand.

Lifeguards at tower G south of the Balboa Pier were alerted to the trapped teen – who was buried up to his face in the hole - at about 2:15 p.m. today.

Friends tried to pull the teen out, and had to contact lifeguards when they were unable to help.

 Twenty firefighters and lifeguards responded and carefully dug the teen out of the sand.  The victim was assessed on scene, but declined transport to the hospital, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Shultz.

Parents should be aware of this potentially dangerous situation and never allow children to dig deep holes below the level of the sand, according to the press release.

Schultz said lifeguards typically warn beachgoers if they see them digging holes.
“Any time you’re below the surface of the beach, it can collapse and trap someone,” she said. 

This situation was potentially very dangerous, she said. The sand could have collapsed around the teen had his friends not come to lifeguards for help.

Two years ago, lifeguards helped someone who was unconscious in the sand after being buried. About 20 years ago, a beachgoer died after being trapped in the sand, she said.

Last year, USA Today reported that more than two dozen people had died in the past decade from sand collapsing on them.
In the story, Researchers found there were 16 sand hole or tunnel deaths in the United States from 1990 to 2006 compared with 12 fatal shark attacks for the same period, according to University of Florida statistics.

Read the full USA Today story here.

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