A family is grieving the loss of 7-year-old Indiana girl Sloan Mattingly, who tragically lost her life on Tuesday in a horrifying incident at a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea beach in Florida, according to WANE.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office identified Sloan as the victim, who, along with her 9-year-old brother, Maddox Mattingly, was buried under collapsing sand while playing on the Florida beach.

According to authorities, the siblings were digging a deep hole in the sand when disaster struck, leading to their entrapment.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene at approximately 3 PM, discovering Maddox buried up to his chest, with Sloan completely buried beneath him, as confirmed by Sandra King, a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

Florida rescuers, facing a delicate situation, utilized support boards to prevent further sand collapse while employing shovels to free the trapped children.

Meanwhile, the duration of their entrapment remains unknown.

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Lack of Lifeguards Raises Safety Concerns

A critical aspect of this tragedy has raised questions about Florida beach safety protocols.

Experts in ocean rescue believe that the Indiana girl's death might have been preventable if lifeguards were present, Yahoo! News noted.

In nearby coastal towns, lifeguards are instructed to caution beachgoers about the risks of digging in the sand, enforcing a maximum knee depth of about 2 feet.

However, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea lacks lifeguard services, as King clarified.

Jim McCrady, Vice President and Lifesaving Academies director of the US Lifesaving Association Southeast Region, emphasized the importance of lifeguard supervision.

He pointed out that incidents like these rarely occur on guarded beaches, where lifeguards actively identify and mitigate potential dangers, including the depth of sand holes.

Despite the absence of an immediate response from the town's spokespeople regarding the lifeguard situation, they confirmed that the Florida beach was open and the sand had been leveled after the incident.

School Mourns Loss of Bright First Grader

Lafayette Meadows Elementary School, where the Indiana girl and her brother were students, is grappling with the heartbreaking loss, per the NY Post.

Jenny Fedele, the school's principal, released a statement expressing the sorrow felt by the school community.

Sloan, described as a bright, sweet, and loving 1st-grade student, was remembered fondly by Ms. Vanbrocklin's class.

"It is with a heavy heart that I write this letting you know we lost a precious member of the Lafayette Meadows school family," wrote Jenny Fedele of Lafayette Meadows Elementary School. "Sloan Mattingly was a bright, sweet, loving 1st-grade student in Ms. Vanbrocklin's class. Sloan passed away on Tuesday."

This tragic incident sheds light on a broader issue of sand collapses at beaches. According to a report from the New England Journal of Medicine, there have been 52 instances of people becoming buried in holes due to collapsed sand, with 31 fatalities recorded between 1997 and 2007.

The victims ranged in age from 3 to 21 years old, underlining the severity and potential dangers associated with digging in the sand.

As the community mourns the loss of the Indiana girl, Sloan Mattingly, discussions on Florida beach safety measures, including lifeguard presence and public awareness campaigns, are likely to gain prominence to prevent such devastating incidents in the future.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 7-year-old Indiana girl killed when a hole she dug in the sand collapsed on a Florida beach - From WTHR