10-year-old boy dies after being trapped in snow pile from late-winter storm

— -- A 10-year-old boy died in upstate New York on Wednesday after becoming trapped in a pile of snow from this week’s storm.

Investigators believe the boy was digging a tunnel into the snow pile when it collapsed on him in the town of Pendleton, New York, some 15 miles east of Niagara Falls. The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident at approximately 3:40 p.m. ET and the child was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy’s name is being withheld until family members are notified.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said the death is being investigated by its criminal investigation bureau but the incident appears to be accidental.

“It’s terrible,” neighbor Julie Hitzges told local news station WIVB. “With snow being this high, you never know what could happen. My heart goes out to the family.”

The incident marked the sixth weather-related death from the late-winter snowstorm that pummeled the Northeast region on Tuesday.

Because the storm shifted west from its originally projected path, the New York City-area got notably less snow than anticipated while some towns further inland were buried. The National Weather Service reported 16 inches of snow had fallen in Niagara Falls and about 28.8 inches had accumulated in Lockport, some 7 miles northeast of Pendleton.

ABC News' Matt Foster and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.