5-Year-Old Girl Dies After Sand Hole Collapses, Buries Her at Beach

A family outing at the beach turned into a tragic nightmare this week -- this after a little girl was buried alive by a collapsed hole dug on a beach in South Florida, which killed her.

CBS News Miami reports Pompano Fire Rescue responded to a call Tuesday just before 4 PM about a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl who were trapped under a mountain of sand after a deep hole they were digging -- about 6 feet deep -- caved in on them.

Shocking cell phone footage -- aired on NBC6 -- seemingly caught the aftermath of the horrifying ordeal ... with beachgoers jumping to the kids' aid and attempting to dig them out.

People got down on their hands and knees to scoop the sand off the children while others tried to hold up the walls so the children didn't become further buried. A huge crowd of onlookers stared on in disbelief ... and support boards were used in the rescue effort.

The boy was reportedly buried up to his chest while the girl was totally submerged under the sand ... and CBS reports the boy was taken from the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Beach to a hospital where he's recovering in stable condition, but the girl died before getting there.

It's unclear how long they were buried ... but it sounds like it took a while to get them out.

Local outlets say officials are investigating if the children are from the area or out of town as well as the children's relationship.

It might sound like a freak thing ... but these sand burials actually happen fairly often. Reports say the girl had stopped breathing by the time first responders were finally able to reach her.