A 4-year-old girl was in critical condition after being buried under a section of the man-made Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, that collapsed under her feet, according to police.
The incident occurred at around 12:50 p.m. Sunday while Miho Kingetsu of Nakano Ward, Tokyo, was walking along the beach with her father, Kazuhiko.
She was rescued about 25 minutes later but was unconscious, police said.
In February, a separate collapse took place about 50 meters south of the spot where the girl was buried, local officials confirmed.
The city determined that sand had filtered through cracks in the protective embankment underneath, leaving gaps in the surface. After taking temporary measures to deal with the situation, the city asked the transport ministry to implement more comprehensive measures, but they have not been carried out, city officials said.
The city erected fences around potentially dangerous areas earlier this month and had decided to increase beach patrols ahead of the yearend and New Year's holidays.
According to police, Kazuhiko was trying to pull his daughter up onto a concrete levee when the ground suddenly gave way. She was buried over her head -- with just the wrists of her raised arms exposed -- in a hole roughly 1.6 meters deep, they said.