Paul Mingyu Sang

A popular Stevenson Ranch student was accidentally killed Wednesday when the sides of a sand hole collapsed and buried him.

Paul Mingyu Sang, 19, a graduate of West Ranch High School and a freshman at The Masters College, was on a school-organized trip to the beach in Oxnard with several other students.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m., Sang climbed down into a six- to eight-foot-deep pit dug into the sand to take a picture. As he settled down at the bottom, the sides of the pit collapsed, burying him.

Friends and other beachgoers tried to dig him out, using their hands and buckets, but it took 15 minutes to extricate him. Ventura County Fire responded and administered CPR to Sang at the scene and enroute to the hospital, but it was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.

Ventura County Coroner’s investigator Craig Stevens said that an autopsy would be done this morning to determine the exact cause of death. The trip was part of the “Week Of Welcome” sponsored by The Master’s College, an orientation for incoming freshmen.

On Sang’s Facebook page, pictures of him with West Ranch School Deputy David Chellis are featured, taken during a job shadowing.

“What a shame, he was a good kid,” Chellis said when he heard the news. “He did have an interest in becoming a police officer, he thought it was an honorable job and he wanted to help people.”

Chellis remembers that Sang, who was Korean and spoke little English, had a close friend who was Vietnamese, with similar language limitations, but the two boys were the best of friends and helped each other out.

Paul Mingyu Sang | Photos: Facebook

“It was like they had this in common, that was their bond,” he recalled. “Neither one of them speaking English and each speaking a totally different language, but they communicated.”

New of Sang’s death spread across social networks Wednesday night. This morning, The Master’s College issued a statement giving the basic information of the accident and adding:

“The college is focused at this time on caring for the student’s immediate family, his local church family, and our student body. We have confidence through the student’s testimony that his trust was in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and we take comfort in knowing that he is with the Lord. It is our prayer that our God will provide comfort to all those who are grieving at this time.”

According to a spokeswoman for The Master’s College, funeral arrangements have not yet been made. Grief counselors are on campus available to students who need them.