A man's death shows the dangers of digging deep holes on the beach

A town on North Carolina's Outer Banks issued a public plea to beachgoers about the dangers of digging holes on the oceanfront just hours before a man died at a New Jersey beach when a hole collapsed on him.

Officials from Kill Devil Hills posted a picture Tuesday on Facebook showing rescue supervisor David Elder standing in a large hole that he said was as much as 7 feet deep (2 meters) in some places. Elder said he is 6 feet, 4 inches (193 centimeters) tall.



Elder said ocean rescue staff had warned the people digging the hole about the dangers and they promised to fill it in before they left. It was still there when he went by after work, he said.

"Some people said there was an issue, and sure enough, I could see it from where I was standing," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.