Great Barrier sand dune collapse: Boys were digging when dunes collapsed - report

The sand dunes at Medlands Beach on Great Barrier Island were unstable after Cyclone Gabrielle, residents said. Photo / Getty Images

Two boys who were buried after a sand dune collapsed on a Great Barrier Island beach were reportedly digging tunnels in the sand during a family picnic.

One of the boys, aged 14, was found with his legs sticking out from the sand and was pulled out with the help of a vehicle, Stuff reported.

The other, a 12-year-old, was completely buried and was not breathing by the time he was extracted, the report said.

The two boys remained in a critical condition in Starship Hospital, a Te Whatu Ora spokesperson said today.

Emergency services were called to Medlands Beach around 4.30pm yesterday afternoon. Beachgoers and emergency services, including staff from two rescue helicopters, scrambled to dig the boys out. They were airlifted to Starship.

Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter pilot Johnny Stanton said there was already a local emergency response underway when he arrived on the island.

“St John, the volunteer firefighters over there, the police, as well as medical staff that I recognised, and I’m sure some bystanders; there was a number of people helping these two people out,” Stanton said.

“They were two very sick people that our medical team worked on, and then we transported them to Starship Hospital.

“It was a challenging scene. It’s a small community. A lot of people were working very hard to help them out,” Stanton said.

“The thing to emphasise is just the community effort,” Stanton said.

“Probably some of [those emergency responders] were not even on duty. They were there very quickly.”

Residents said the dunes at the beach had been badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle in February, and the sand had been piled into small, unstable cliffs.

One of the boys attended Kaitoke School nearby.

Principal Leanne Eloff described it as a “terrible freak accident”.

“Our focus is on supporting the family, along with the wider school whānau, through this hugely difficult time,” she said.

“We are a tight-knit community here on Aotea, where everybody knows each other, so something like this impacts everyone.

“We are all hoping for a full recovery for the boys.”