A person was found buried in sand, a Hato Hone St John spokesperson says. Photo: Supplied/Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
A man was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition, after being trapped under a collapsed sand dune in Auckland.
Emergency services were called to Muriwai Beach on Auckland's west coast at 5pm Saturday.
The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust said the man was digging a hole in a sand dune, when it collapsed on him.
The cause of a sand dune collapse is unknown. Photo: Supplied/Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
The helicopter rescue crew were called to the beach to help the man, who was in his 20s.
A spokesperson said the man was buried head first in the dune.
He was flown to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said it responded with one ambulance and a volunteer first-response unit, along with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
In 2023, a boy was killed, after he and a friend were trapped in a collapsed dune on Aotea Great Barrier Island.
The boys, aged 12 and 14, were flown to Starship Hospital in critical condition, after the dune collapsed, as they dug tunnels during a family picnic at Medlands Beach.
Levi Sonchai Golaboski, 12, was taken off life support days later.
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