#Person stuck in quicksand full#
#Person stuck in quicksand free#

This is done by re-introducing water between the sand and clay particles with the mud lance, reducing the density and making it easier to extract the trapped body parts. The best way to release the person is to re-build the 'houses of cards' around the trapped body parts. If you do find yourself stuck in quicksand, the best idea is to lean back so that the weight of your body is distributed over a wider area.

#Person stuck in quicksand full#

The result is a very stodgy later of sand and clay, which is twice as dense as the original quicksand and packed tightly around the trapped body parts. The quicksand effect means that falling into a silo full of grain can often be fatal (Credit: Getty Images) In the lab Bonn’s team found that salt was an essential ingredient. Very quickly, the sand sinks to the bottom with the clay and the water floats to the top. Liquefying the clay makes the quicksand about one million times runnier, and the whole 'house of cards' comes tumbling down, with the person trapped inside it. Together these form a structure like a 'house of cards', with large water-filled gaps between the sand particles, which are loosely glued in place by the clay.Īs long as it is left alone, the structure remains stable, but as soon as it is disturbed by stepping on it, the clay changes from a jelly-like consistency to a runny liquid - the effect is the same as stirring a pot of yoghurt. Last Valentine’s Day, Ryan Osmun, a 34-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, and his girlfriend, Jessika McNeill, decided to hike the Subway, a remote, semi-technical slot canyon trail. © 2024 NYP Holdings, Inc.Quicksand has four key ingredients - sand, water, clay and salt.

The reasons why quicksand can be so difficult to escape from are explored, looking. “They were just going to have a little adventure before their summer activities started,” he told NBC Chicago. Practical experiments show that quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid that can behave as both a solid and a liquid. The real danger of quicksand is that you can get stuck in it when the high tides come up. Quicksand is denser than your body is, which means you’ll mostly float on the surface. In fact, a 2005 article in the journal Nature found that it’s impossible for a human body to sink completely into quicksand. His father, Todd Porter, said his son had a passion for travel and the outdoors, which he shared with a group of college friends. When quicksand causes the collapse of bridges and buildings, it truly can be dangerous, experts say. The reality is that while you can get stuck in quicksand, your whole body won’t actually sink to the bottom of it. If you’re careful, you can see that it looks different from the rest of the ground. Quicksand is most commonly found in swamps, marches, near lake shores, beaches, and riverbanks. Learning what quicksand looks like can ensure you don’t find yourself stuck in it. Porter’s body was recovered from the estuary on Monday morning and his family was notified by police in his hometown of Lake Bluff. The best way to prevent getting stuck in quicksand is to avoid it altogether.

#Person stuck in quicksand free#

Zachary Porter, a college student from Lake Bluff, was on a trip with friends in Alaska when he got sucked into the mud while crossing the treacherous Turnagain Arm - a 48-mile-long estuary carved out by glaciers.ĭespite frantic efforts by firefighters and Porter’s friends to free him from the waist-deep silt, the incoming tide submerged him. The heartbroken family of a 20-year-old Illinois man who drowned Sunday after getting stuck in quicksand-like silt on Alaska’s mud flats said he loved to travel and was on an “adventure” when tragedy struck. Half a day later, he was still stuck upright. Newlywed drowns at popular Australia beach while on honeymoon Just after noon on the day before Thanksgiving 2011, 25-year-old NOLS student Rob Tesar unwittingly walked into quicksand in the Utah backcountry. When rescuers finally reached him, he was suffering from hypothermia and exposure to the freezing conditions. Swimming in cold water may reduce menopause symptoms, study finds Ryan Osmun: You could really only see white, snow, and water, and the canyon walls. Osmun became stuck for 12 hours in the quicksand as a blizzard raged around him. YouTuber shared eerie social media post about death weeks before drowning in Hawaii Depression can make simple tasks feel extremely difficult.

Maine town manager drowns after rescuing 4-year-old son when both break through ice Being depressed is similar to being in quicksand because people feel stuck and struggle to get out of both.