Boy buried and killed by fallen hillside

An 11-year-old boy died Saturday after a sandy hillside collapsed on him and two playmates at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz.

The three boys had climbed about 30 feet up the hill on a breezy, sunny afternoon, within view of scores of sunbathers, when the slide buried them.

Santa Cruz rangers and firefighters responded to an emergency call at 4:23 p.m., according to state parks lifeguard supervisor Chip Bockman. He said the 11-year-old was taken to Dominican Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His 9-year-old playmate was pulled from the sand by bystanders and was still hospitalized, Bockman said.

The third child, a 10-year-old, managed to get out from under the slide and went for help, Bockman said, adding that the boys were from the Santa Cruz area. Their identities had not yet been released.