Sean Nagel, Stuart, Florida man buried alive after sand dune collapses on him in freak accident. Nature lover was enjoying the sunrise when the dune collapsed, trapping him.
A Florida man died over the weekend after being buried alive by a sand dune which collapsed on the unwitting man while he ‘was enjoying the sunrise’, authorities said.
The freak accident happened early Sunday morning at Rock Beach on Hutchinson Island — where a passerby spotted a pair of human legs sticking out from the sand and called for help, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.
The grim discovery was made just south of the House of Refuge Museum at around 9 a.m.
The victim was identified as 37-year-old Sean Alexander Nagel, from Stuart, with officials saying the victim ‘died hours earlier from asphyxia as a result of being trapped in the sand.’
Sheriff William Snyder confirmed to WPTV that when first responders dug up Nagel, sand was discovered in the man’s lungs.
The sheriff said Sean Nagel was the type of guy to get up early in the morning and come down to the beach, set up his GoPro camera, sit back and watch the sunrise.
At the time of his death, Snyder said it was about 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.
He said Nagle had his legs up and was leaning back on some sand when the dune collapsed. Authorities do not suspect foul play.
The sheriff’s office were awaiting the results of toxicology tests, as per standard procedure, but it noted the results were ‘not likely to change the outcome of this incident being a tragic accident.’
Nagel’s older brother confirmed his death resutling from an accidental dune collapse in a Facebook post on Monday.
‘I am grief-stricken and still in disbelief to tell you all that my younger brother Sean Alexander Nagel is no longer with us on this earth,’ Will Nagel wrote. ‘Please remember to enjoy your life and don’t take a single second for granted.’
Sean Nagel’s old Facebook posts suggest that he is survived by a young son.
