Dad Dies After Sand Tunnel Buries Him Alive on Family Vacation

A tourist in Florida has died after a sand tunnel he had been digging on a beach suddenly collapsed on him.

Lee Goggin, 35, from Texas, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 30, after he was placed in a medically induced coma following being buried under two to three feet of sand just days prior, PEOPLE reports. His younger sister, Rachel Goggin Burt, announced his death on Facebook.

“It is with great sorrow and sadness that I write this. My precious, big brother is with Jesus. Our hearts are shattered, but we don’t grieve without hope,” she wrote in the post. “Our hearts ache greatly, but Heaven just got so much sweeter than it already was.”

Goggin had travelled to Florida with his family for a trip to Disney World. The family had decided to stop at a nearby beach in St. Augustine, Florida prior to their afternoon check-in at their hotel. While at the beach, Goggin began digging in the soft sand near sand dunes and had begun to create a tunnel when it suddenly collapsed on him.

The family at first attempted to dig Goggin out by themselves, but after one minute of unsuccessful attempts, they called 911. The St. John’s County Fire Rescue team worked for more than 30 minutes to free him from the sand, but by the time they reached him, he was in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where, according to the New York Post, he was placed in a medically induced coma.

“He essentially dug a tunnel by hand,” Jeremy Robshaw, spokesman for St. John’s County Fire Rescue, told the Miami Herald. “He was digging alongside the dunes, which are about three to five feet high. Apparently, the sand collapsed on him and the individual was trapped.”

Following the tragic incident, Burt created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his medical, and now funeral, expenses, writing “Thank you for the prayers, calls, texts, and visits. They have sustained us these past couple of days, and we’re so grateful. Our hearts ache greatly, but Heaven just got so much sweeter than it already was.