RESCUERS frantically worked to help a man trapped in quicksand as the tide rushed in with only his chest, head and one arm visible.
Bay Search and Rescue raced to an urgent request from the coastguard on Saturday morning while on a routine patrol.
The rescue team received a 999 call at around 11.30am that a person was trapped in quicksand at Silverdale in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire.
“Very quickly we came across the casualty who was lying on his back in a soft gulley,” a team spokesperson said.
They added that when they arrived, only his “chest, head, one arm, and part of one leg still visible”.
By that time the man was exhausted and showing signs of hypothermia and it was a race against time with the tide rapidly coming into the bay.
“As we left the scene, the tide had already begun to fill the gulley — a surreal reminder of just how close this call was,” they added.
“Our crew inflated two Inflatable Rescue Air Pathways so we could safely reach him, and informed Holyhead MRCC of his exact location.
“One pathway behind him to prevent him sinking further and the other in front we carefully worked to free him.
“After just a few short minutes, he was safely out and on the pathway and able to crawl up onto dry land.”
The man was then put into their all-terrain vehicle to warm him up and wrapped in foil blankets after being assessed by a medic.
As the tide came in, he was raced to a nearby cafe and handed over to the North West Ambulance Service for further checks.
The team heaped praise on all those involved following the rescue.
“This rescue was a true display of teamwork across agencies – a reminder of the coordination, skill and dedication that keeps our coastlines safe,” they said.
It’s not the only example of someone becoming trapped in quicksand this year either.
A Brit beachgoer had to be rescued in May after being swallowed in quicksand in an 8ft hole he had dug himself.
Jensen Sturgeon thought he was going to die after spending over three hours trapped surrounded by sand on a popular beach.
He had decided to try and dig as deep as possible but after some time he struck water as the hole quickly collapsed around him.
The major hole soon turned into a quicksand trap that caused his legs to sink and become stuck as he tried to regain his footing.
He later told the told The Sun how he “thought it was my last day” – but confessed he’d probably do it again.
Quicksand forms when an excessive amount of water flows through sand and behaves like a liquid when agitated.
So even though it may appear solid when you step on it, it will liquify and cause things to sink.
Contrary to myth quicksand does not suck people downwards but movement can cause a person to sink further.
Expert advice is not to struggle, make slow movements to bring yourself to the surface and then lie back and float to a safe level.
