Boy dies after sand tunnel at Long Branch beach

Police say a Monmouth County boy who was rushed to the hospital after a sand tunnel collapsed on him has died.

Boy dies after sand tunnel collapsed

12-year-old Eric Cornman from Ocean Township (Oakhurst section), was not breathing when he was pulled out of the sand tunnel at the beach in Long Branch, NJ late Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Lifeguards administered CPR on him, and he was taken to Monmouth Medical Center where he was placed in intensive care.

Witnesses

Witnesses at the beach said blood was coming out of the boy’s nose when lifeguards were working on him.

Someone screamed for help from lifeguards, who were just 15 feet away, said Roebuck. The boy was pulled out, and lifeguards performed CPR on him as they waited for paramedics.

A beachgoer from Staten Island, N.Y., said the boy wasn’t moving.

“They were pumping him, pressing on his stomach, trying to bring him back,” she said. “They kept trying to revive him, pressing, pressing. There was blood coming out of his nose… He didn’t move.”  – NBC News

Sources said the sand tunnel was deep, and the weight of all the sand on the boy’s chest made it impossible for him to breathe.

Authorities said a fire truck responding to the scene hit a man holding his infant son. The truck hit the pair as it pulled into Ocean Place near the beach, knocking them both to the ground.

Both were taken to the Jersey Shore Medical Center. The father suffered some broken limbs. The baby was injured but not severely.

The firefighter driving the truck was working his last shift before his retirement, officials said.