Parents of girl buried on beach speak out for first time

ohThe parents of a 7-year-old girl who died after being buried alive on a beach say the dangers of digging holes in the sand “didn't cross their minds”.

Sloan Mattingly was playing with his brother Maddox in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, USA, when the walls of a 2-meter-deep hole they were digging collapsed on them.

The girl tried to save herself by holding on to her trapped brother, but his head remained above the surface.

The brothers were removed and taken to the hospital, but the girl did not survive. It was buried for 20 minutes.

Mother Therese says the family “doesn't know how it happened”.

“We're the ones other parents or family members roll their eyes at because we're often a little overprotective,” the woman told 'Good Morning America' in her first statements since the tragedy.

“I think about everything. We think about water safety when we go to the beach. It never, ever crossed my mind. Of course. Now, looking at it, I'm like, 'Of course!' That part is really frustrating,” he said.

In a 911 call released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, beachgoers can be heard screaming and a woman, who claims to be a nurse, tells the operator “there's a little girl buried in the sand.” The girl's father shouted for help and people tried to help him.

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