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a traveler in utah who got stuck quick sand Freed this weekend after a dramatic rescue operation.
Austin Dirks was hiking Sunday in Arches National Park in eastern Utah, famous for its hundreds of stunning sandstone arches.
In an area called “Courthouse Wash,” featuring incredible scenery and ancient rock art, Dirk was walking alone on the trail early in the morning when his left foot hit solid ground and broke.
The experienced traveler immediately realized that he was stuck in the sand.
“I was able to pull it out, and then I put all my weight on my right leg and I went down to my knee,” he said. FOX13 Salt Lake City“It felt like I had stepped into concrete, and then it hardened around my foot, I couldn’t move a millimeter,”
While movies often portray sand as deadly, it is almost impossible to die by drowning in it because sand is denser than the human body, meaning people are more buoyant.
Typically, people do not sink below the waist or mid-chest. However, when sand particles accumulate around people’s feet, it traps them.
This is what happened to Dirks. “Before this trip, I honestly thought quicksand was more of a folklore or legend,” he told FOX13. “Real life is nothing like the way it is shown on TV. The human body is more mobile than sand, so you will never fall in over your head.”
The experienced hiker had a GPS satellite messenger that allowed him to send a warning signal.
Officials with Grand County Search and Rescue dispatched a drone that was able to locate Dirk. Drone footage showed him stuck in the sand, struggling to keep his knees off the ground beneath high rocks.
Grand County Search and Rescue Incident Commander John Marshall said a ladder and traction board were used to remove Dirk. NBC News.
Marshall noted that the temperature was 21 degrees which meant conditions were below zero.
“There was no sun shining in this valley area where this person was,” he said. “I was stunned to see how cold the ambient temperature was.”
When Marshall was informed of Dirks’ condition, he admitted he was in disbelief.
“The page closed and I shook my head and said: ‘Did I hear that correctly? Someone stuck in quicksand?'” Marshall said.
Two hours later Dirk was released safely from the quicksand. “He was very tired and trapped and was ready to pass out,” the commander said.