Mum and daughter sink waist-deep into quicksand on Essex beach
A mum and daughter had to be saved after they sank waist-deep into wet sand on the Essex coast.
CCTV captured the moment the unidentified youngster was playing in the sand near the Three Shells Lagoon, in Southend, on Tuesday.
But the girl suddenly stumbled and sank into the sand at about 5.20pm, just as the tide was coming in.
Her mum raced into the sand to pull out her daughter, only to become trapped herself in the pocket of quicksand.
Lorry driver Adrian Pikula, 36, told the BBC that he heard the youngster ‘crying’ while he was walking his own daughter along Western Esplanade.
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Adrian, 36, said: ‘[The woman] was very deep – probably about half of her body was in the mud. Of course, there was lots of drama.’
He alerted staff at the nearby Adventure Island amusement park, with four staff members racing to the quicksand.
The ‘heroes’ used a rope from the park’s workshop to tug the pair free, Adventure Island said in a Facebook post.
‘Drawing on their training and expertise, the team acted quickly and calmly to rescue them, while another member of the workshop team contacted the Coastguard,’ the post said.
‘Thankfully, this happened while our team were still on site at the end of the day, allowing staff to spot the situation and step in when it mattered most.
‘A huge well done to our team who jumped straight into action and safely rescued them.
‘We hope the mother and daughter are both safe and well after the incident.’
What is quicksand?
Quicksand may sound like the stuff of cartoons and movies, but it’s very much real.
Sinking sand is a mixture of sand and water or sand and air held together by a gel made of clay and salt, making it gloopy.
The water cannot escape from the loosely packed sand, with salt and clay grains acting as a fragile glue holding it all together.
When someone stands on it, the gel turns into liquid, so it can’t support the weight of the person.
Quicksand has a wet, bubbly or smooth surface. The trick is not to panic if you fall in – avoid sudden movements and shift your body back as if you were sitting in a recliner.
Doing so reduces downward pressure, so you essentially ‘float’ on the soupy sand.
The force needed to pull out a person trapped in sinking sand is about the same as the force needed to lift a car.
Philip Miller MBE, executive chairman of Stockvale Group, which owns Adventure Island, thanked the rescuers.
The lagoon is now fenced off with signs warning people of the ‘deep wet sand’, thought to have been provided by the council.
The council said that officials are ‘aware’ of the incident.
‘It added: ‘No injuries were reported and we will keep the signage on site advising caution due to deep, wet sand until we are confident that the lagoon is safe.
‘We will consider any other urgent measures which may be necessary following the next low-tide inspection.’
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