By . Mail Online Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 01:26 EST, 20 January 2014 . UPDATED: . 01:28 EST, 20 January 2014 . A boy has suffocated in sand after the hole he was digging collapsed on him at Pataua Beach in New Zealand's far north. The bizarre accident happened at the beach, near Whangarei in Northland, on Sunday at 1.30pm. As he was digging, it's believed the boy poked his head into the hole. The family's day at the beach turned to tragedy when a team from St John ambulance service was unable to resuscitate the boy, reported Radio NZ. Buried: Pataua beach in Northland, New Zealand where a seven-year-old boy died in collapsed sand. St John Northland operations manager Tony Devanney said an ambulance and a rescue helicopter was called to the beach. Mr Devanney said it was unclear how long the boy lay buried in the sand and that it did not appear the hole was all that big. 'A little seven year old boy at Pataua South was digging a hole in the sand, and he stuck his head in the sand, as they do, and it collapsed on him,' said Mr Devanney, who praised bystanders for starting resuscitation. 'The family, friends or bystanders pulled him out and attempted CPR but he was pulseless at that stage.'A pilot, Russell Proctor of the Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter, says emergency services and passersby did everything they could to try to resuscitate the boy. He said when the helicopter arrived, members of the public were performing CPR and were joined by four paramedics and three doctors who were at the scene.He added that there were about 30 people at the beach, some of whom were members of the boy's family . The area's beautiful beaches are  popular with holidaymakers at this time of the year and as the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island, Northland has symbolic significance in Maori mythology as the 'end of the country'. Poignantly, for the grieving relatives of the boy, the indigenous stories maintain that it is from here that the souls of the dead depart on their journey to the afterlife .
Boy's head trapped in collapsed sand on Northland beach .
Passersby praised for CPR attempts .
Helicopter rescue team unable to resuscitate .
Emergency services unsure how long boy lay beneath sand .
By . Mail Online Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 01:26 EST, 20 January 2014 . UPDATED: . 01:28 EST, 20 January 2014 . A boy has suffocated in sand after the hole he was digging collapsed on him at Pataua Beach in New Zealand's far north. The bizarre accident happened at the beach, near Whangarei in Northland, on Sunday at 1.30pm. As he was digging, it's believed the boy poked his head into the hole. The family's day at the beach turned to tragedy when a team from St John ambulance service was unable to resuscitate the boy, reported Radio NZ. Buried: Pataua beach in Northland, New Zealand where a seven-year-old boy died in collapsed sand. St John Northland operations manager Tony Devanney said an ambulance and a rescue helicopter was called to the beach. Mr Devanney said it was unclear how long the boy lay buried in the sand and that it did not appear the hole was all that big. 'A little seven year old boy at Pataua South was digging a hole in the sand, and he stuck his head in the sand, as they do, and it collapsed on him,' said Mr Devanney, who praised bystanders for starting resuscitation. 'The family, friends or bystanders pulled him out and attempted CPR but he was pulseless at that stage.'A pilot, Russell Proctor of the Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter, says emergency services and passersby did everything they could to try to resuscitate the boy. He said when the helicopter arrived, members of the public were performing CPR and were joined by four paramedics and three doctors who were at the scene.He added that there were about 30 people at the beach, some of whom were members of the boy's family . The area's beautiful beaches are  popular with holidaymakers at this time of the year and as the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island, Northland has symbolic significance in Maori mythology as the 'end of the country'. Poignantly, for the grieving relatives of the boy, the indigenous stories maintain that it is from here that the souls of the dead depart on their journey to the afterlife .
ambulance service was unable to resuscitate the died in collapsed sand. St John Northland long the boy lay buried in the sand and that it Rescue Helicopter, says emergency services and