Denmark warns of sandslides after heavy rain

Heba Press / Agencies

Danish authorities warned on Monday of sandslides along the country’s coast following heavy rains after two children were buried in sand over the weekend and taken to hospital.

The two boys, aged nine and 12, were digging a hole in a sand dune on a beach in North Jutland yesterday, Sunday, when the sand dune collapsed and buried them.

Local media reported that the two boys, who were on holiday with their families, were stuck under the sand for 40 minutes as people on the beach tried to get them out.

Police said in a statement that they were airlifted to hospital and were in critical condition.

In a separate incident on Sunday, another boy was trapped in a sandslide in southwest Jutland, but was quickly pulled out and unharmed.

Following both incidents, the North Jutland Emergency Services, in a message on platform ‘X’, urged caution around sand dune areas, urging people to stick to designated paths, closely supervise children, not climb steep sand dunes and not dig holes in the dunes.

Local authorities in southwest Jutland said recent heavy rains had made sand dunes unstable.