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The audio of a 911 call has been released of a tragic incident where a seven-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother were buried after a sand hole they'd been digging on a beach collapsed.
Sloan Mattingly was pronounced dead in hospital after she and her brother Maddox were dug out of the sand.
She had been completely buried on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, while her brother had been buried up to his chest.
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Around 20 on the beach tried to dig the children out of the sand hole, which had been about four or five feet deep before it collapsed on them, while someone else placed a call to 911.
The harrowing audio of the 911 call has since been released and reveals the efforts of those on the beach trying to help the trapped children.
"I'm on the beach in front of High Noon and there's a child that they're trying to get out," the caller said, with the distress and emotion clear in her voice as she said the children were trapped.
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She then told the 911 dispatcher that there were 'a bunch of people trying to dig' and explained that the children's father 'started yelling for help' as his kids were trapped in the sand.
The caller then said she could hear the seven-year-old's mother shouting 'my daughter is in there' and that 'everybody's screaming'.
"They do not see her head, they do not see her," she said to the dispatcher after being told that the emergency services were en route.
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At was at this point that members of Broward County Sheriff's Office arrived, as the caller said: "Oh this mother, oh this is awful."
Per the Tampa Bay Times, there has been criticism of the beach by ocean rescue experts, who say there was no lifeguard present on the beach as it was not staffed.
Other beaches in the area have lifeguards who are instructed to stop people from digging holes deeper than two feet, and to fill in their holes after they are done digging them.
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According to Broward County Sheriff's Office, the children were part of an Indiana family who had been on vacation in Florida.
Their mother Therese told CBS News in a statement: "A freak accident happened yesterday while we are here on vacation and it took away our greatest 7.5 years.
"Don't tell us you're sorry for our loss... don't do that to us. We experienced the purest human being ever and we are forever changed by her.
"We love you beyond any stretch of the imagination. Our sweet Sloan. What we would give."
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An investigation into the incident is being handled by the sheriff's office and remains ongoing.
LADbible has contacted Broward County Sheriff's Office for further comment.
Topics: US News
Joe Harker