At the beach, kids love to have fun, but one of their favorite activities could have dire consequences.
On a seaside holiday, sitting on the beach and enjoying a moment of relaxation to the sound of the waves is one of the favourite pleasures of many people. However, sometimes you also have to keep the children busy and that’s when it’s time to build sandcastles or dig holes. While four towers and a wall don’t represent a great danger, you have to be wary of ditches in the sand.
While the first obvious risk is falling, the one that can be even more dangerous is collapse. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal science researcher, explained to The Conversation the great danger it represents. Most often, on the beaches, there is quartz sand, associated with other minerals. This mixture is unstable, especially when a hole is formed and a person is near it, adding additional weight. If the sand collapses, it quickly becomes very heavy. On average, on most beaches, a cubic meter of dry sand weighs between 1500 and 2000 kilos. You should also be wary of wet sand, because once dry, it becomes much less stable.
“Digging holes in the sand may seem innocent, but if the hole is deep enough and collapses on a person, it is extremely difficult to escape,” the specialist added. Every year, dozens of people are injured, some of them, in the most serious cases, losing their lives because of holes dug in the sand. Research shows that even more people die this way than from shark attacks.
To help a person stuck in sand, the first step is to free their airways. To do this, it is best to remove the sand from the center outwards using shovels or buckets. Few people should do this to avoid increasing the weight and accelerating the collapse.
It is therefore recommended to never dig a hole deeper than the knee height of the smallest person present. 0.6 meters is even defined as the maximum depth. So, the next time you go to the beach, make sure that the sand holes your children are going to dig are not too deep and close them before you leave to avoid any risks.