Boy dies after suffocating in beach hole

A seven-year-old boy died on a beach in New Zealand after digging a hole in the sand and falling into it.

The child had been playing at a beach in Pataua South, near Whangarei in Northland, New Zealand when he was found with his head buried in the hole he had dug.

According to The New Zealand Herald, beachgoers and paramedics tried to revive him but were unsuccessful.

Tony Devanney, of St John Ambulance, said: "He was digging a hole and went down head first into the hole to have a look.

"It collapsed all around him and pinned him in there.

"It's horrible, it just happened while he was playing, as kids do."

AAP reports that the hole did not appear to be big and it was not clear how long the boy was stuck in it.

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