A beachgoer in South Carolina was killed after a loose beach umbrella impaled her in the chest.

The umbrella was blown from its anchoring by the wind and hit Tammy Perreault while she was at a Garden City beach on Wednesday, Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said.

Perreault, 63, died about an hour later in hospital from chest trauma, police said.

Beach umbrellas have a spiked end to help push them into the sand and their wide canopy allows them to get caught up in a strong wind if they are not anchored properly, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The federal agency estimates about 3,000 people are injured by beach umbrellas every year.

US senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia asked the safety agency to review safety rules for beach umbrellas and start a safety campaign after a Virginia woman was killed by an umbrella in 2016.