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Teen dies after being buried under collapsed sand dune in Utah state park

Ian Spendlove, 13, of Santa Clara, Utah, was pronounced dead Sunday after being buried under a collapsed sand dune a day prior. Photo courtesy of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park/Website
Ian Spendlove, 13, of Santa Clara, Utah, was pronounced dead Sunday after being buried under a collapsed sand dune a day prior. Photo courtesy of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park/Website

May 17 (UPI) -- Officials said a 13-year-old died over the weekend after a dune he had been digging a tunnel in collapsed, burying him in sand at a Utah state park.

The teenager was identified by Utah State Parks in a statement Monday as Ian Spendlove of Santa Clara.

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Officials said park rangers at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park were notified of the incident at around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and immediately began to try and locate Spendlove in the dune.

The teenager was found at about 5:53 p.m. under about six and a half feet of sand, the park said, adding first responders administered CPR until additional personnel arrived who confirmed he still had a pulse and transported him to St. George Regional Hospital and then to a Salt Lake City children's hospitals.

Spendlove was declared dead Sunday after he did not regain brain activity, officials said.

"The Utah Division of State Parks extends our condolences to Ian Spendlove's friends and family impacted by this tragedy," it said.

The incident is under investigation.

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