13-year-old Utah boy dies after dune collapses on him at state park

A Utah teenager digging a tunnel in a state park over the weekend died when the dune collapsed on top of him, park officials said Monday.

Ian Spendlove, 13, was digging at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on Saturday when a relative saw the dune give way around him, according to the Utah State Parks Division.

Park rangers began trying to dig it up, eventually joined by a state park ranger and Kane County Sheriff’s Office deputies with shovels.

About 20 minutes after the collapse, Spendlove was pulled out of six and a half feet of sand. First responders administered CPR until a Life Flight arrived to take him to St. George’s Regional Hospital.

He was later transferred to Salt Lake City Children’s Primary Hospital and was pronounced dead on Sunday after he found no brain activity.

“The Utah State Parks Division extends its condolences to the friends and family of Ian Spendlove affected by this tragedy,” officials said in a statement.