A 17-year-old died in the Outer Banks after a sand dune collapsed on top of him : NPR

In this Sept. 15, 2018, file photo, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse sits way off the beach in Buxton, N.C.

Steve Helber/AP

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Steve Helber/AP

In this Sept. 15, 2018, file photo, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse sits way off the beach in Buxton, N.C.

Steve Helber/AP

A 17-year-old died Saturday after a sand dune collapsed on top of him in the Outer Banks in North Carolina, the National Park Service said.

The teenager, a male from Chesapeake, Virginia, was at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Frisco, North Carolina. At about 2 p.m., law enforcement responded to a 911 call after the teen’s family and friends had been looking for him.

He was found in a hole about a tenth of a mile east from an off-road ramp, buried underneath several feet of sand. The dune collapsed into the hole, which had been “dug in a back-dune area behind the primary dune and not visible from the beachfront,” the NPS said.

Several authorities, including park rangers, Dare County Emergency Medical Services and Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue staff helped move the teenager from the hole and attempted CPR, but were not successful.

The incident is being investigated.

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