Man with just ‘chest, head and one arm’ poking out from quicksand rescued by emergency crews
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A man who was trapped in quicksand as the tide began to come in rapidly was rescued in what has been described as a “surreal close call”.
The Bay Search and Rescue team, who operate in the Morecambe Bay area, were called to an incident in Silverdale at 11:30am on Saturday after a man got trapped in quicksand.
The team said at first glance, only the man’s “chest, head, one arm, and part of one leg” were still visible, as a “big tide was rapidly pushing in to the Bay”.
“Very quickly we came across the casualty who was lying on his back in a soft gulley — at first glance only his chest, head, one arm, and part of one leg still visible, but because he had laid right he was thankfully not in too deep, but completely exhausted and quite hypothermic,” the team said.
Th crew inflated two Rescue Air Pathways to reach him, and placed one behind him to prevent him sinking further and the other in front to free him carefully.
The man was safely taken out of the quicksand in a matter of minutes, and was brought onto the pathway.
He was transferred into the team’s all-terrain vehicle to warm up, as he was “extremely cold and showing signs of hypothermia” and was wrapped in foil blankets after being assessed by a medic.
“As we left the scene, the tide had already begun to fill the gulley — a surreal reminder of just how close this call was,” the crew said.
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He was transferred into the team’s all-terrain vehicle to warm up, as he was “extremely cold and showing signs of hypothermia” and was wrapped in foil blankets after being assessed by a medic (Bay Search and Rescue)
The man was taken to a local cafe and handed over to the North West Ambulance Service for further assessment.
The crew said the incident was a “true display of teamwork”.
The team said: “This rescue was a true display of teamwork across agencies — a reminder of the coordination, skill, and dedication that keeps our coastline safe. A huge thank you to everyone involved.”
Earlier this year, the rescue team told the BBC it had found more patches of quicksand this year, than they had seen for 30 years. Quicksand is formed when sand becomes waterlogged, which can happen in estuaries with tides.
