Overview

• At 4:47 pm on July 10, Selsey Coastguard Rescue Team and West Wittering Lifeguards freed a teenager who had been buried up to seven feet deep in a self-dug hole at West Wittering Beach in West Sussex.
• Rescuers used a careful, multi-line excavation technique, first sweeping sand away by hand before moving it further back with buckets and spades to prevent collapse.
• After his release, the teenager was given oxygen, checked over in the beach’s first aid room, and assessed by ambulance crews.
• Officials warned that dry beach sand has low cohesion and can collapse suddenly, creating crushing and suffocation hazards.
• Coastguard teams urged beachgoers to avoid digging holes deeper than waist height and to refill any excavations before leaving the beach.