1 00:00:12,545 --> 00:00:14,911 You're dealing with one of the fundamental forces of nature here, 2 00:00:15,048 --> 00:00:19,144 but unlike a hurricane or even a landslide or a flood 3 00:00:19,285 --> 00:00:20,980 or somethin', you can't see it. 4 00:00:25,825 --> 00:00:27,315 Is lying there in wait all the time 5 00:00:27,460 --> 00:00:28,984 twenty-four hours a day. 6 00:00:30,430 --> 00:00:33,126 You might just be walking along minding your own business 7 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:36,861 and once is got you, is going to hurt you. 8 00:00:39,339 --> 00:00:43,969 It conforms to every single nook and cranny of your body. 9 00:00:45,178 --> 00:00:47,339 You literally cannot pull yourself out 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,381 even if you're just up to your ankles. 11 00:00:52,585 --> 00:00:56,521 People have always been just terrified of the idea of quicksand. 12 00:00:56,656 --> 00:00:59,955 Its that awful feeling that somehow the ground 13 00:01:00,093 --> 00:01:04,393 which you know is solid and you walk on is somehow not there, 14 00:01:04,531 --> 00:01:07,557 and you're going to take a step, and you're going to disappear. 15 00:01:14,774 --> 00:01:17,106 Since the earliest days of the cinema 16 00:01:17,243 --> 00:01:21,441 it was one of Hollywoos favorite ways to dispose of the bad guy. 17 00:01:21,581 --> 00:01:23,947 Or trap an innocent victim. 18 00:01:27,220 --> 00:01:31,213 Producers created bottomless pits of quicksand out of peat moss, 19 00:01:31,357 --> 00:01:33,723 oatmeal, even wine corks 20 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:36,988 And helped make the soggy stuff legendary. 21 00:01:38,698 --> 00:01:42,657 But quicksand is more than just a clever plot device. 22 00:01:50,276 --> 00:01:53,074 Is real... Is dangerous... 23 00:01:53,213 --> 00:01:56,410 And is more common than most people believe. 24 00:01:57,050 --> 00:02:02,010 Quicksand is found along coastlines, on riverbanks, 25 00:02:02,155 --> 00:02:04,919 even in our own backyards. 26 00:02:06,025 --> 00:02:08,550 Though one of nature's deadliest traps, 27 00:02:08,695 --> 00:02:12,290 quicksand is made of just two basic ingredients... 28 00:02:12,432 --> 00:02:14,866 sand and water... 29 00:02:15,869 --> 00:02:19,896 its a simple recipe - for disaster. 30 00:02:21,374 --> 00:02:23,137 In 1997, 31 00:02:23,276 --> 00:02:26,768 twelve year old Sara Cody and a friend went for a stroll 32 00:02:26,913 --> 00:02:29,939 on what looked like a perfectly ordinary beach, 33 00:02:30,083 --> 00:02:32,313 on the northwest coast of England. 34 00:02:32,452 --> 00:02:35,819 We were staying at my Auntie Jackie's holiday flat 35 00:02:35,955 --> 00:02:38,617 for the weekend, me and my friend Georgina. 36 00:02:38,958 --> 00:02:41,324 We went out on the sand we have been out before 37 00:02:41,461 --> 00:02:44,089 and there is actually signs saying quicksands 38 00:02:44,230 --> 00:02:46,198 and it was a stupid thing to do, 39 00:02:46,332 --> 00:02:48,732 but you don't really think about that at the time. 40 00:02:48,868 --> 00:02:51,268 You think, "Oh, I'm not gonna sink" 41 00:02:52,372 --> 00:02:53,839 It felt quite muddy at first 42 00:02:53,973 --> 00:02:56,032 and it did feel like my feet were gettin' a bit stuck, 43 00:02:56,176 --> 00:02:59,475 but it just felt like walking in thick mud. 44 00:02:59,612 --> 00:03:03,343 And then it got kind of more... liquidy. 45 00:03:12,091 --> 00:03:14,116 And as I walked along, it was all of a sudden 46 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:17,161 like a big pocket of quicksand I stood into. 47 00:03:17,297 --> 00:03:20,960 It felt like it was sucking me, pulling me down into the sand 48 00:03:22,068 --> 00:03:23,262 I tried to pull myself out, 49 00:03:23,403 --> 00:03:27,203 but that made me sink about twice as fast. 50 00:03:27,340 --> 00:03:29,308 And there was people shoutin from the prom, 51 00:03:29,442 --> 00:03:32,138 "Stop struggling and just keep still." 52 00:03:32,278 --> 00:03:35,076 I sunk up to about here-ish, I think. 53 00:03:35,215 --> 00:03:37,979 And, ahm, I remember 54 00:03:38,117 --> 00:03:40,745 at first my feet didn't feel like I had them anymore. 55 00:03:40,887 --> 00:03:45,085 There was lots of sand in my wellies and they were being dragged down. 56 00:03:45,992 --> 00:03:47,983 It was liquid, but it was going really hard 57 00:03:48,127 --> 00:03:50,527 where I was puttin' pressure onto the sand. 58 00:03:50,663 --> 00:03:53,632 It was just settin' ike concrete around me. 59 00:03:56,836 --> 00:04:01,933 Sara was mired deep in quicksand, only 150 feet from the shore. 60 00:04:02,075 --> 00:04:04,202 It looked just like the rest of the beach, 61 00:04:04,344 --> 00:04:07,438 but this particular patch of sand was different. 62 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:09,912 Sara was locked so firmly in place 63 00:04:10,049 --> 00:04:12,449 She couldn't get out on her own. 64 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,356 What we think of as solid ground - terra firma 65 00:04:17,490 --> 00:04:19,720 isn't really solid at all. 66 00:04:19,859 --> 00:04:22,885 Is billions of separate granular particles 67 00:04:23,029 --> 00:04:24,428 resting on each other. 68 00:04:24,564 --> 00:04:26,395 Normally thas all it is. 69 00:04:26,532 --> 00:04:30,093 But quicksand forms when rising water levels in the ground 70 00:04:30,236 --> 00:04:33,694 force the grains to lose contact, and they float apart, 71 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:35,865 suspended in water. 72 00:04:36,009 --> 00:04:39,069 The liquefied sand can no longer support you, 73 00:04:39,212 --> 00:04:41,112 so down you go. 74 00:04:41,514 --> 00:04:45,280 As Sara realized too late, struggling is a bad idea 75 00:04:45,418 --> 00:04:47,852 as it only liquefies the ground even more 76 00:04:47,987 --> 00:04:49,477 so you sink further. 77 00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:53,080 Trying to pull your legs up compacts the sand tightly, 78 00:04:53,226 --> 00:04:55,387 turning the water pressure into suction, 79 00:04:55,528 --> 00:04:57,758 and locking your foot in place. 80 00:04:57,897 --> 00:05:00,127 The finer the particles in the quicksand, 81 00:05:00,266 --> 00:05:03,429 the tighter and more vise-like the grip. 82 00:05:05,872 --> 00:05:09,535 Word of Sara's predicament reached the armside coast guard 83 00:05:09,676 --> 00:05:14,170 who handle some 30 qs rescue every year. 84 00:05:14,547 --> 00:05:16,538 When I arrived on the promenade I saw Gordon, 85 00:05:16,683 --> 00:05:19,516 one of my crew, already in there with Sarah. 86 00:05:19,652 --> 00:05:21,779 She really was in a mess. 87 00:05:21,921 --> 00:05:26,381 She was really frightened, she was screaming crying, 88 00:05:26,526 --> 00:05:30,758 she was just thrashing, all she wanted to do was get out. 89 00:05:31,964 --> 00:05:36,424 So I radioed, but still we are just talking minutes. 90 00:05:37,437 --> 00:05:39,530 After a while, there were all these people around me. 91 00:05:39,672 --> 00:05:41,765 It was getting really panicky. 92 00:05:41,908 --> 00:05:46,470 There's lots of noise and fire engines and police 93 00:05:46,612 --> 00:05:49,080 and it seemed like it was taking forever. 94 00:05:52,285 --> 00:05:55,516 Freeing a victim from quicksand without also getting trapped 95 00:05:55,655 --> 00:05:57,452 calls for special gear. 96 00:05:57,590 --> 00:06:00,081 The Arnside coast guard uses portable planks 97 00:06:00,226 --> 00:06:02,217 to cross the unstable sands 98 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:05,195 and support their weight during the rescue. 99 00:06:08,668 --> 00:06:10,727 They put a big wooden board over my head. 100 00:06:10,870 --> 00:06:13,703 It was like a big square with a hollow in the middle. 101 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,308 And to pull me out, they pulled one leg out first. 102 00:06:16,442 --> 00:06:19,468 They basically dug my leg out with their arms 103 00:06:19,612 --> 00:06:23,207 they put the one leg onto the board so I could lever my other leg out. 104 00:06:23,616 --> 00:06:26,107 And then I was sort of laying in the sand 105 00:06:26,619 --> 00:06:29,486 and then they managed to get me out altogether. 106 00:06:30,289 --> 00:06:31,620 And they just picked me up... 107 00:06:31,758 --> 00:06:34,693 just ran me across these boards to the shore 108 00:06:34,827 --> 00:06:38,160 and I didn't touch the floor until I got to the ambulance. 109 00:06:43,236 --> 00:06:45,204 Since it happened I've been back once. 110 00:06:45,338 --> 00:06:50,105 I came a bit onto the sands, but I stayed mostly by the rocks 111 00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:52,871 because I think I've learned my lesson the first time... 112 00:06:53,179 --> 00:06:56,012 Is not worth the hassle of all the peoples jobs 113 00:06:56,149 --> 00:06:57,081 coming out and helping you 114 00:06:57,216 --> 00:06:59,776 and really is pointless going out there 115 00:06:59,919 --> 00:07:01,443 in the first place. 116 00:07:01,587 --> 00:07:05,045 In this part of England quicksand isn't limited to the beach 117 00:07:05,191 --> 00:07:07,386 where Sara was trapped. 118 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,326 The town of Arnside lies near the entrance 119 00:07:10,463 --> 00:07:14,627 to an enormous body of water called Morecambe bay. 120 00:07:15,201 --> 00:07:19,467 The area is well known for its wildlife and scenic beauty. 121 00:07:20,673 --> 00:07:22,470 It is also notorious 122 00:07:22,608 --> 00:07:26,237 for some of the worls most dangerous quicksand. 123 00:07:29,215 --> 00:07:30,648 Sands do look nice, don't they? 124 00:07:30,783 --> 00:07:31,442 And they look safe. 125 00:07:31,584 --> 00:07:33,814 They always look safe to the lay person 126 00:07:33,953 --> 00:07:35,750 it looks like any old sand. 127 00:07:35,888 --> 00:07:38,448 And thas its hidden danger. 128 00:07:39,225 --> 00:07:41,625 For centuries, Morecambe bay at low tide 129 00:07:41,761 --> 00:07:45,527 has seduced unwary travellers, tempting them to risk their lives 130 00:07:45,665 --> 00:07:50,125 for a short cut from one village to another by crossing the sands. 131 00:07:50,269 --> 00:07:52,169 More than 150 people 132 00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:55,866 are known to have perished attempting this journey. 133 00:07:56,809 --> 00:08:01,576 By itself, quicksand is not deadly but it is the ultimate trap, 134 00:08:01,714 --> 00:08:03,306 locking its victim in place 135 00:08:03,449 --> 00:08:07,078 while some other force of nature finishes the job. 136 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,988 In Morecambe bay, is a 30-foot tide. 137 00:08:13,226 --> 00:08:17,026 You can never out-run it really, because it never tires, the tide. 138 00:08:17,163 --> 00:08:18,596 There is a saying in this area 139 00:08:18,731 --> 00:08:21,996 that it can travel at the speed of a galloping horse. 140 00:08:22,134 --> 00:08:25,592 Well, even a horse can get tired, but the tide never does. 141 00:08:27,139 --> 00:08:29,471 To help travellers more safely negotiate 142 00:08:29,609 --> 00:08:33,511 Morecambe bay's massive tides and infamous quicksand, 143 00:08:33,646 --> 00:08:36,444 the British monarchy appointed the first official guide 144 00:08:36,582 --> 00:08:38,846 some 600 years ago. 145 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:45,924 In 1963, Cedric Robinson became the latest in this long line 146 00:08:46,058 --> 00:08:48,993 of queen's guides to the sands. 147 00:08:49,629 --> 00:08:52,996 You can only know and read the sands from bein' brought up 148 00:08:53,132 --> 00:08:55,293 such as I was, from a very early age. 149 00:08:55,434 --> 00:08:58,426 There's no way you can read a book and say, "Well, I know the route." 150 00:08:58,571 --> 00:09:00,198 It doesn't work like that. 151 00:09:00,339 --> 00:09:01,931 You have to know the sands intimately 152 00:09:02,074 --> 00:09:04,372 and if it can catch you out out there, 153 00:09:04,510 --> 00:09:05,977 it will do. 154 00:09:10,783 --> 00:09:14,082 Cedric has lived and worked as a fisherman on Morecambe bay 155 00:09:14,220 --> 00:09:15,847 for over 50 years 156 00:09:15,988 --> 00:09:18,889 and he knows its perils better than most. 157 00:09:19,592 --> 00:09:24,291 His introduction to quicksand began at the age of fourteen. 158 00:09:26,599 --> 00:09:29,534 I didn't want to do anything, only follow the sands for a livin', 159 00:09:29,669 --> 00:09:31,432 same as me father and me grandfather, 160 00:09:31,571 --> 00:09:32,629 and even me grandmother. 161 00:09:32,772 --> 00:09:34,603 She was a fisherwoman. 162 00:09:36,509 --> 00:09:37,771 Here on Morecambe bay, 163 00:09:37,910 --> 00:09:40,879 fishing has always been a hazardous profession. 164 00:09:41,013 --> 00:09:44,847 At low tide, the bay is transformed into a wet desert 165 00:09:44,984 --> 00:09:48,147 the fish more than seven miles off shore. 166 00:09:49,021 --> 00:09:50,079 In the old days, 167 00:09:50,222 --> 00:09:53,214 locals harvested the sea from horse and cart, 168 00:09:53,359 --> 00:09:56,624 venturing out on the treacherous sands to set their nets 169 00:09:56,762 --> 00:10:00,061 and wait for the catch to roll in with the tide. 170 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,560 Not everyone made it back to safe ground. 171 00:10:03,703 --> 00:10:07,104 Many foundered in quicksand, both horse and driver drowned 172 00:10:07,239 --> 00:10:11,198 by the returning tide as it surged over their heads. 173 00:10:12,745 --> 00:10:14,007 As the royal guide, 174 00:10:14,146 --> 00:10:17,206 one of Cedric's responsibilities is to educate the public 175 00:10:17,350 --> 00:10:21,844 to Morecambe bay's risks by leading "nature walks" out on the sands. 176 00:10:21,988 --> 00:10:26,891 Before taking any group off shore, he surveys the exposed flats. 177 00:10:27,026 --> 00:10:28,926 Come a fine day, before setting foot on the sands, 178 00:10:29,061 --> 00:10:32,497 I can go up onto the tops, with a marvelous view of the estuary, 179 00:10:32,632 --> 00:10:34,896 and I can look through the binoculars out there 180 00:10:35,034 --> 00:10:36,968 and scan the river down and I can say to myself 181 00:10:37,103 --> 00:10:39,936 with my knowledge: "Well, thas the place to cross." 182 00:10:42,508 --> 00:10:45,068 The danger spots are the lowest areas, 183 00:10:45,211 --> 00:10:47,111 where the meandering paths of rivers 184 00:10:47,246 --> 00:10:50,909 and streams carve narrow channels in the bay... 185 00:10:51,851 --> 00:10:54,581 quicksand is formed by the action of the tides 186 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,621 as it raises the water table beneath the bay, 187 00:10:57,757 --> 00:11:02,626 saturating and loosening the sand in and along these channels. 188 00:11:03,996 --> 00:11:05,691 It looks just the same as any sand. 189 00:11:05,831 --> 00:11:08,129 It looks firm until you stand on it 190 00:11:08,267 --> 00:11:09,894 and it just goes like jelly. 191 00:11:10,036 --> 00:11:12,596 And the more people that goes over that area, 192 00:11:12,738 --> 00:11:14,797 the more jellyish it gets. 193 00:11:14,940 --> 00:11:16,134 There are some areas out there 194 00:11:16,275 --> 00:11:19,335 where it would be too frightening to go near them. 195 00:11:20,246 --> 00:11:21,975 But there are areas where you can go on it 196 00:11:22,114 --> 00:11:24,378 and you can have fun with children. 197 00:11:25,051 --> 00:11:28,714 It may seem unwise to mix kids and quicksand, 198 00:11:28,854 --> 00:11:32,085 but Cedric's hope is to prevent future tragedies 199 00:11:32,224 --> 00:11:36,058 by teaching children how to recognize it for themselves. 200 00:11:36,195 --> 00:11:37,423 Have you ever been on quicksands before? 201 00:11:37,563 --> 00:11:38,587 No. 202 00:11:38,731 --> 00:11:40,323 You could get really stuck couldn't you? 203 00:11:40,466 --> 00:11:42,127 Yeah... 204 00:11:42,268 --> 00:11:44,668 Yeah thas it. It clings, doesn't it? 205 00:11:44,804 --> 00:11:48,137 Is like a suction, isn't it? 206 00:11:48,274 --> 00:11:51,766 So is bad there. And once you go on it, is worse. 207 00:11:51,911 --> 00:11:54,106 But if you come back to there, that area in two hours, 208 00:11:54,246 --> 00:11:55,213 that water will have come out 209 00:11:55,347 --> 00:11:57,178 and ill have hardened up a little bit. 210 00:11:57,316 --> 00:11:58,283 And thas the danger. 211 00:11:58,417 --> 00:12:01,648 If you were in there for two hours, we wouldn't get you out 212 00:12:01,787 --> 00:12:04,847 because the water comes out and it sets just like concrete. 213 00:12:05,257 --> 00:12:07,885 Quicksand is always the highlight of the walk, 214 00:12:08,027 --> 00:12:11,292 but Cedric makes sure the kids understand that ultimately, 215 00:12:11,430 --> 00:12:13,591 is a serious hazard. 216 00:12:13,866 --> 00:12:14,798 After a certain time 217 00:12:14,934 --> 00:12:17,061 one or two of them will get that little bit deeper and 218 00:12:17,203 --> 00:12:18,932 and then it gets past the exciting stage 219 00:12:19,071 --> 00:12:20,732 and someone can get stuck. 220 00:12:20,873 --> 00:12:22,067 So Cedric has to blow the whistle, 221 00:12:22,208 --> 00:12:26,042 say, "Come on out of there! I don't want to lose any of ya'." 222 00:12:27,213 --> 00:12:28,237 Remember girls, 223 00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:31,110 not too deep otherwise you'll have to stay! 224 00:12:32,752 --> 00:12:37,780 Usually, you find quicksand outside, a product of mother nature. 225 00:12:38,290 --> 00:12:42,522 But with the right ingredients and know-how, you can make your own. 226 00:12:43,529 --> 00:12:47,522 Scott Steedman understands quicksand better than most. 227 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,328 He is a civil engineer who has spent his professional life 228 00:12:51,470 --> 00:12:53,995 studying the earth beneath our feet. 229 00:12:54,140 --> 00:12:55,505 At home in the kitchen, 230 00:12:55,641 --> 00:12:59,475 Scott has his own special recipe for quicksand. 231 00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:03,548 This is corn flour which people use for thickening gravy 232 00:13:03,682 --> 00:13:07,516 and it shows just all the same properties as quicksand. 233 00:13:07,653 --> 00:13:09,746 Quite extraordinary when you mix it with water 234 00:13:09,889 --> 00:13:12,357 you can change it from this solid form, 235 00:13:12,491 --> 00:13:14,618 into a liquid and back again. 236 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:16,591 And uh, let me just show you that 237 00:13:16,729 --> 00:13:19,596 because I'll just put some more in, more than I need 238 00:13:19,732 --> 00:13:25,568 and we'll see if we can't make a quicksand here in the kitchen. 239 00:13:32,478 --> 00:13:35,811 The cornflower is a hard and fine granular material, 240 00:13:35,948 --> 00:13:40,317 so its a bit like sand or fine sand but extremely fine 241 00:13:40,452 --> 00:13:43,819 and so we can see in the mixture 242 00:13:43,956 --> 00:13:48,154 all the same properties that you see in a quicksand on a beach. 243 00:13:48,294 --> 00:13:51,923 But really in a small scale, here in a glass. 244 00:13:52,064 --> 00:13:55,227 So this is the corn flour paste in its liquid form. 245 00:13:55,367 --> 00:13:57,392 And if I just stir the spoon slowly 246 00:13:57,536 --> 00:13:59,504 you can see that it is a liquid. 247 00:13:59,839 --> 00:14:02,569 Lift it up and it drips straight back in 248 00:14:02,708 --> 00:14:04,403 just like a liquid. 249 00:14:04,944 --> 00:14:08,107 But if I stab at it with a spoon quickly 250 00:14:08,247 --> 00:14:12,707 like a person trying to run across the quicksand 251 00:14:12,852 --> 00:14:14,319 they don't sink in. 252 00:14:14,453 --> 00:14:17,718 It is absolutely solid well is undulating, 253 00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:20,121 but is solid under the tip of the spoon. 254 00:14:20,259 --> 00:14:23,456 Is got all that strength to hold the person up. 255 00:14:23,596 --> 00:14:27,589 But if the person stands still, it just sinks in. 256 00:14:28,567 --> 00:14:33,231 And then if I grab at the spoon and try and pull it out quickly, 257 00:14:33,372 --> 00:14:35,567 like I'm kicking with my legs in the quicksand, 258 00:14:35,708 --> 00:14:37,801 it locks absolutely solid. 259 00:14:37,943 --> 00:14:39,934 If I kick from side to side 260 00:14:40,079 --> 00:14:43,606 I just can't get it out - is absolutely stuck. 261 00:14:45,451 --> 00:14:47,715 In the movies, getting stuck in quicksand 262 00:14:47,853 --> 00:14:50,253 was usually a terrifying experience, 263 00:14:50,389 --> 00:14:54,723 and the hapless victim went to extraordinary lengths to escape. 264 00:15:01,834 --> 00:15:03,096 But in reality 265 00:15:03,235 --> 00:15:07,228 there are some people around who just can't wait to get into it. 266 00:15:07,373 --> 00:15:10,865 These days my experience with it is filming other people. 267 00:15:11,010 --> 00:15:12,443 People from all walks of life. 268 00:15:12,578 --> 00:15:15,809 They bring their selves or their significant other 269 00:15:15,948 --> 00:15:19,145 and they want to jump into a bottomless pit of quicksand 270 00:15:19,285 --> 00:15:22,686 to experience it, and I provide that. 271 00:15:23,622 --> 00:15:27,888 Chuck Lang is making his own contribution to the b-movie genre. 272 00:15:28,027 --> 00:15:29,551 Be looking over your shoulder 273 00:15:29,695 --> 00:15:32,459 as you're running like you hear the posse coming. 274 00:15:32,598 --> 00:15:34,327 You want me to stand back here 275 00:15:34,466 --> 00:15:36,934 and fire a few shots over your head or something? 276 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:44,376 Chuck is in high demand for his directing skills, 277 00:15:44,510 --> 00:15:46,740 and for his knack for finding quicksand, 278 00:15:46,879 --> 00:15:49,541 along the banks of the Mississippi river. 279 00:15:49,682 --> 00:15:53,448 Chuck and his friends are just a few members of an emerging network 280 00:15:53,585 --> 00:15:55,678 of quicksand fanatics. 281 00:15:55,821 --> 00:15:59,552 The competition is who can find quicksand first. 282 00:15:59,692 --> 00:16:04,925 And the game is what do you do after you've found it... 283 00:16:07,933 --> 00:16:10,993 It is almost like you are chained to the ground all over. 284 00:16:11,136 --> 00:16:12,194 You have to move, 285 00:16:12,338 --> 00:16:15,273 you have to exercise a lot of energy just to move a little bit. 286 00:16:15,407 --> 00:16:17,705 Imagine yourself in molasses. 287 00:16:18,143 --> 00:16:20,703 Is almost like an exercise. 288 00:16:20,846 --> 00:16:22,837 You are going to burn some calories. 289 00:16:22,982 --> 00:16:24,609 You really are. 290 00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:28,819 To an outsider, playing around with a dangerous natural phenomenon 291 00:16:28,954 --> 00:16:30,353 may seem foolish. 292 00:16:30,489 --> 00:16:32,514 But after years of trial and error, 293 00:16:32,658 --> 00:16:33,852 these buffs have developed 294 00:16:33,993 --> 00:16:36,757 an impressive understanding of quicksand 295 00:16:36,895 --> 00:16:38,920 - its realities and a few myths... 296 00:16:39,064 --> 00:16:41,589 including the ones Hollywood made up. 297 00:16:41,734 --> 00:16:43,634 Don't believe what you saw on TV. 298 00:16:43,769 --> 00:16:45,737 You're not going to sink out of sight. 299 00:16:49,174 --> 00:16:51,438 Perhaps its the biggest myth of all: 300 00:16:51,577 --> 00:16:53,807 That you'll step into a pool of quicksand... 301 00:16:53,946 --> 00:16:55,709 And disappear. 302 00:17:00,119 --> 00:17:03,020 But thas virtually impossible. 303 00:17:04,790 --> 00:17:08,749 You're actually more at risk in a pool of plain old water. 304 00:17:08,894 --> 00:17:13,092 Because humans are composed mainly of water, we won't stop sinking 305 00:17:13,232 --> 00:17:16,633 until we've displaced an amount equal to our own volume, 306 00:17:16,769 --> 00:17:19,465 and that puts us beneath the surface. 307 00:17:19,605 --> 00:17:22,130 Quicksand is twice as dense as water, 308 00:17:22,274 --> 00:17:26,711 so we won't sink nearly as far, only about chest deep. 309 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:28,940 The quicksanders have a good time 310 00:17:29,081 --> 00:17:31,311 applying their knowledge of buoyancy, 311 00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:34,476 but generally they don't tempt fate. 312 00:17:34,620 --> 00:17:37,748 Here on the Mississippi the quicksand they play in 313 00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:40,518 is not the most dangerous... 314 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:46,559 The sand grains are fairly large so the grip is less "vice-like." 315 00:17:46,698 --> 00:17:49,189 But just in case something does go wrong, 316 00:17:49,334 --> 00:17:51,495 they use the buddy system. 317 00:17:51,904 --> 00:17:54,634 Is not a good idea to ever go out by yourself 318 00:17:54,773 --> 00:17:55,899 to look for quicksand. 319 00:17:56,041 --> 00:17:58,373 Because if you find it and you do get stuck 320 00:17:58,510 --> 00:18:00,375 you could be there a while. 321 00:18:11,890 --> 00:18:14,620 Bruce Fyfe certainly wasn't out looking for quicksand 322 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,459 when he stumbled into it one night in 1999 while chasing his dog. 323 00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:22,999 But find it he did, in a very unlikely place. 324 00:18:23,135 --> 00:18:24,796 Basically, is dusk, 325 00:18:24,937 --> 00:18:27,132 fourth of July weekend, Friday 326 00:18:27,272 --> 00:18:30,173 and I'm bookin' down nine mile comin' back with the dog 327 00:18:30,309 --> 00:18:34,609 and got approximately a little past where the gravel pit is, 328 00:18:34,746 --> 00:18:36,145 and she bolts out the back of the truck 329 00:18:36,281 --> 00:18:40,149 and I stopped the truck, took off through the sandpiles after her. 330 00:18:42,754 --> 00:18:43,413 And she goes down the hill 331 00:18:43,555 --> 00:18:46,353 and got out where they dump all their sand trappings 332 00:18:46,492 --> 00:18:47,789 and stuff after they clean the rocks 333 00:18:47,926 --> 00:18:50,224 and gravel off and is real soft there in spots 334 00:18:50,362 --> 00:18:52,592 and I happened to find a soft spot. 335 00:18:52,998 --> 00:18:56,729 Ended up goin' in and basically a couple hours later 336 00:18:56,869 --> 00:18:59,667 realized I was not gettin' out without any help. 337 00:19:00,372 --> 00:19:04,672 Bruce found himself knee deep in a peculiar kind of quicksand 338 00:19:04,810 --> 00:19:08,507 an unexpected by-product of the gravel industry. 339 00:19:08,647 --> 00:19:10,808 Water and fine sand particles 340 00:19:10,949 --> 00:19:12,576 from the mounds of crushed rock 341 00:19:12,718 --> 00:19:16,176 make this quicksand especially "concrete-like" 342 00:19:16,321 --> 00:19:18,380 and difficult to escape. 343 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:22,961 Bruce was locked in and looking at an extended stay. 344 00:19:23,595 --> 00:19:25,290 As my feet went into it and got locked 345 00:19:25,430 --> 00:19:31,300 you could actually feel it encasing my feet and part of my leg. 346 00:19:31,436 --> 00:19:34,837 From probably mid point from my shins 347 00:19:34,973 --> 00:19:36,031 down to the bottoms of my feet 348 00:19:36,175 --> 00:19:38,075 I couldn't feel anything. 349 00:19:38,210 --> 00:19:40,508 You know it was just... they were dead. 350 00:19:40,646 --> 00:19:43,877 And I wasn't going forward, backwards, up or down, 351 00:19:44,016 --> 00:19:46,883 and I was stuck. 352 00:19:47,386 --> 00:19:48,614 I think I resigned myself to the fact 353 00:19:48,754 --> 00:19:50,244 that I was probably going to be there overnight, 354 00:19:50,389 --> 00:19:51,947 'cause I... you know, very little traffic, 355 00:19:52,090 --> 00:19:53,114 everybody's gone... 356 00:19:53,258 --> 00:19:54,520 I could hear the expressway traffic, 357 00:19:54,660 --> 00:19:58,323 but thas a couple miles away and just well, 358 00:19:58,463 --> 00:20:01,023 I'll wait 'til morning and just start all over again. 359 00:20:01,166 --> 00:20:05,068 And, it just got progressively hotter through the weekend 360 00:20:05,204 --> 00:20:06,171 and by the third day 361 00:20:06,305 --> 00:20:09,297 I did drink the water that was around me. 362 00:20:09,441 --> 00:20:11,375 I was just to that point 363 00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:15,344 where I knew something was happening to me physically, 364 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,005 because I couldn't focus on anything. 365 00:20:19,384 --> 00:20:22,046 Bruce was suffering from more than just dehydration 366 00:20:22,187 --> 00:20:23,848 and prolonged exposure. 367 00:20:23,989 --> 00:20:24,580 At this point, 368 00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:27,590 he'd been trapped for three days and four nights... 369 00:20:27,726 --> 00:20:28,988 more than 60 hours, 370 00:20:29,127 --> 00:20:31,994 and was dealing with a frightening effect of quicksand: 371 00:20:32,130 --> 00:20:35,361 A crushing pressure on his limbs. 372 00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:39,129 Moving his legs back and forth had compacted the quicksand. 373 00:20:39,271 --> 00:20:42,001 The pressure had increased until it actually cut off 374 00:20:42,140 --> 00:20:44,199 the blood supply to his legs. 375 00:20:44,343 --> 00:20:46,470 Eventually, Bruce lost all feeling 376 00:20:46,612 --> 00:20:48,842 in his lower extremeties as the cells, 377 00:20:48,981 --> 00:20:53,042 nerves and tissues were starved of essential oxygen and nutrients 378 00:20:53,185 --> 00:20:55,244 supplied by blood flow. 379 00:20:55,587 --> 00:20:56,713 When the quicksand stuff the material 380 00:20:56,855 --> 00:20:58,186 it was just like if you were squeezing 381 00:20:58,323 --> 00:21:00,188 on your legs hard as this 382 00:21:00,325 --> 00:21:03,260 but it went from his mid-thighs all the way down his leg, 383 00:21:03,395 --> 00:21:05,955 just a total squeeze down to around his foot 384 00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:10,091 and kind of just squished it right up... 385 00:21:10,235 --> 00:21:11,725 I guess you could make the comparison 386 00:21:11,870 --> 00:21:14,600 to being in a vise-like situation... 387 00:21:14,740 --> 00:21:18,540 Believe me coming on to the third morning 388 00:21:18,677 --> 00:21:19,803 I wanted out. 389 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:21,879 I wanted to go home. 390 00:21:22,948 --> 00:21:25,610 Bruce's endurancetest finally came to an end 391 00:21:25,751 --> 00:21:28,311 when the sun rose on Tuesday morning. 392 00:21:28,954 --> 00:21:31,582 I heard the machinery start and I started screaming, 393 00:21:31,723 --> 00:21:35,853 and some guy popped up over the bank and he says, 394 00:21:35,994 --> 00:21:37,518 "How long have you been here?" 395 00:21:37,663 --> 00:21:38,994 And I told him and I said 396 00:21:39,131 --> 00:21:42,100 roll the rescue squad and get me some water. 397 00:21:50,809 --> 00:21:52,140 They tried digging with some shovels. 398 00:21:52,277 --> 00:21:52,936 They really couldn't 399 00:21:53,078 --> 00:21:55,239 because we were worried about some injuries to his legs. 400 00:21:55,380 --> 00:21:57,245 They dug with some screwdrivers 401 00:21:57,382 --> 00:21:58,872 a couple of inches at a time running their 402 00:21:59,017 --> 00:22:01,781 hands down his legs to make sure they were not poking into them. 403 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,320 Because he couldn't feel his legs, 404 00:22:04,456 --> 00:22:06,117 from the knees down to around his feet. 405 00:22:06,258 --> 00:22:09,853 He had no feeling in there from being compacted for so long. 406 00:22:11,930 --> 00:22:13,659 As soon as my feet came free 407 00:22:13,799 --> 00:22:16,233 they just pirouetted me up and got me down on the backboard 408 00:22:16,368 --> 00:22:17,562 and got me out of there... 409 00:22:17,703 --> 00:22:19,898 I was tired, I was hot, 410 00:22:20,038 --> 00:22:23,132 and I was just trying to stay with it. 411 00:22:24,276 --> 00:22:26,767 I didn't realize I had developed an infection, 412 00:22:26,912 --> 00:22:29,142 my kidneys had started to shut down, 413 00:22:29,281 --> 00:22:31,715 and there was a lot of weird things wrong inside of me 414 00:22:31,850 --> 00:22:33,010 that I really couldn't tell. 415 00:22:33,151 --> 00:22:35,676 The big thing I knew was that my feet were messed up. 416 00:22:38,990 --> 00:22:42,050 Bruce's kidneys were treated and soon back to normal, 417 00:22:42,194 --> 00:22:44,526 but his feet were another matter. 418 00:22:45,197 --> 00:22:48,098 When tissues are starved of blood and oxygen long enough, 419 00:22:48,233 --> 00:22:51,327 they die, which can lead to gangrene. 420 00:22:51,903 --> 00:22:56,306 In the worst cases toes or even legs are amputated. 421 00:22:57,309 --> 00:23:00,710 Sometimes if I move my foot just right I get a real bad twinge 422 00:23:00,846 --> 00:23:04,475 and that could still be just scar tissue breaking apart. 423 00:23:04,616 --> 00:23:08,450 The Doctor said it could be a year before your feet get back to normal. 424 00:23:08,854 --> 00:23:12,085 Time could have been Bruce's real enemy 425 00:23:12,858 --> 00:23:15,088 but luckily, his rescuers reached him 426 00:23:15,227 --> 00:23:18,025 before permanent injury set in. 427 00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:27,470 In a swamp north of Toronto, 428 00:23:27,606 --> 00:23:31,007 it was the combination of quicksand and cold Canadian weather 429 00:23:31,143 --> 00:23:34,840 that spelled disaster for nine year old Ethan Beattie. 430 00:23:36,181 --> 00:23:39,173 The nightmare began one chilly spring afternoon 431 00:23:39,317 --> 00:23:42,582 when Ethan and his friend Steven took a wrong turn 432 00:23:42,721 --> 00:23:45,952 while playing in the backwoods near their homes. 433 00:23:48,593 --> 00:23:50,527 I got stuck at one point 434 00:23:50,662 --> 00:23:55,258 and Steven thought that me and Elmo were behind him, 435 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,096 so he went on. 436 00:23:58,236 --> 00:24:01,364 And then we were separated. 437 00:24:02,507 --> 00:24:04,202 We were looking for this path 438 00:24:04,342 --> 00:24:09,939 that would take us back but we ended up in the swamp. 439 00:24:10,782 --> 00:24:12,807 As they searched for a way home, 440 00:24:12,951 --> 00:24:16,546 the ground beneath their feet began to give way. 441 00:24:17,322 --> 00:24:18,880 Well, it looked like it was solid, 442 00:24:19,024 --> 00:24:22,755 but when you stepped, you would start to sink, 443 00:24:22,894 --> 00:24:25,055 and it looks like is shallow 444 00:24:25,197 --> 00:24:29,156 but when you step in your leg... it will get deeper. 445 00:24:29,501 --> 00:24:32,959 Steven managed to find his way home and told his mother 446 00:24:33,104 --> 00:24:36,733 that Ethan and Elmo were still lost in the swamp. 447 00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:38,066 As darkness fell, 448 00:24:38,210 --> 00:24:43,170 police and local rescue squads organized an extensive search. 449 00:24:43,315 --> 00:24:47,945 You could see the lights of the fire trucks and the police cars. 450 00:24:48,086 --> 00:24:49,280 There was lots of commotion 451 00:24:49,421 --> 00:24:52,413 and you could see people massing down at the corner here, 452 00:24:52,557 --> 00:24:55,651 waiting to go in on foot to do a search. 453 00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:59,529 The rescuers had their work cut out for them. 454 00:24:59,664 --> 00:25:03,930 Ethan had disappeared in the heart of a three square mile swamp 455 00:25:04,069 --> 00:25:07,368 and it was already dusk when the search began. 456 00:25:08,373 --> 00:25:10,773 We'd also been informed by the police officers 457 00:25:10,909 --> 00:25:14,106 that had gone out ahead of time that there was quicksand. 458 00:25:14,246 --> 00:25:15,873 So there's a danger out there 459 00:25:16,014 --> 00:25:19,472 that we were actually told not to actually leave the boat 460 00:25:19,618 --> 00:25:22,678 unless we had a visual contact with the boy. 461 00:25:23,989 --> 00:25:26,048 You hope for the best, but you expect the worst, 462 00:25:26,191 --> 00:25:27,590 you don't want to go up there all pumped thinking 463 00:25:27,726 --> 00:25:28,818 you're going to find somebody alive, 464 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,985 because if you don't, especially a child. 465 00:25:31,129 --> 00:25:33,723 If you don't find them alive thas devastating. 466 00:25:35,133 --> 00:25:38,796 For several hours the rescue team scoured the swamp 467 00:25:38,937 --> 00:25:42,600 but there were no signs of Ethan or the dog 468 00:25:44,009 --> 00:25:44,634 I can't imagine 469 00:25:44,776 --> 00:25:46,368 what a little nine year-old boy is thinking, 470 00:25:46,511 --> 00:25:48,843 when it starts to get dark, he can see the helicopter, 471 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:50,971 he can hear the people looking for him. 472 00:25:51,116 --> 00:25:54,779 Ahm, he can't answer because is starting to get too cold. 473 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:55,852 He's gotten too far. 474 00:25:55,987 --> 00:25:57,682 He can't get back. He's getting stuck. 475 00:25:57,822 --> 00:26:00,256 The only thing he's got with him is his dog. 476 00:26:01,026 --> 00:26:02,493 As the night wore on, 477 00:26:02,627 --> 00:26:05,653 Ethan's situation grew more desperate. 478 00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:09,266 Stuck in quicksand, 479 00:26:09,401 --> 00:26:12,700 his body trapped in near-freezing swamp water, 480 00:26:12,837 --> 00:26:16,933 he was in real danger of dying from exposure. 481 00:26:20,145 --> 00:26:22,705 Elmo the dog sensed Ethan was in trouble, 482 00:26:22,847 --> 00:26:25,179 and stayed close to the boy. 483 00:26:26,518 --> 00:26:27,849 When I got too cold. 484 00:26:27,986 --> 00:26:29,783 Elmo would lie on me 485 00:26:29,921 --> 00:26:33,379 and when I was falling asleep, Elmo would lick my face 486 00:26:33,525 --> 00:26:35,720 so I would stay awake. 487 00:26:37,996 --> 00:26:41,523 Every 15-20 seconds we would call out his name, 488 00:26:41,666 --> 00:26:44,794 hoping that we'd get a response. 489 00:26:51,743 --> 00:26:54,439 More than five hours after the search began, 490 00:26:54,579 --> 00:26:58,675 the beam of Dave Pierce's spotlight reflected off the eyes of an animal 491 00:26:58,817 --> 00:27:00,808 crouched in the reeds. 492 00:27:02,087 --> 00:27:04,817 We got probably within about 50 feet 493 00:27:04,956 --> 00:27:07,049 and I was able to see a slightly black shape 494 00:27:07,192 --> 00:27:09,160 and then we knew it was a dog. 495 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,294 When we came upon the boy and Dale shouted out 496 00:27:18,436 --> 00:27:20,666 "He's alive!" boy, that was it. 497 00:27:20,805 --> 00:27:21,772 The adrenaline's pumpin' 498 00:27:21,906 --> 00:27:25,307 and we're basically running across there to get to him. 499 00:27:25,443 --> 00:27:28,241 And to find him still alive; still alert... 500 00:27:28,380 --> 00:27:30,143 OK, now we've got a chance. 501 00:27:30,749 --> 00:27:34,845 By now, Ethan was ice cold and extremely weak, 502 00:27:34,986 --> 00:27:37,386 sunk deep in the quicksand. 503 00:27:37,522 --> 00:27:41,618 I was up to here in mud and it was, they would 504 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,856 I think they were pullin' me a lot to get me out. 505 00:27:45,997 --> 00:27:48,727 But the soft wet ground nearly thwarted the rescuers' 506 00:27:48,867 --> 00:27:52,359 efforts to free Ethan and get him into the boat. 507 00:27:53,538 --> 00:27:54,596 Dale picked him up. 508 00:27:54,739 --> 00:27:56,764 He turned around, he took one step and boom 509 00:27:56,908 --> 00:27:59,502 he went down to his chest in quicksand. 510 00:27:59,644 --> 00:28:01,009 It scared the hell out of us. 511 00:28:01,146 --> 00:28:05,014 We knew it was there, but we didn't step in it before 512 00:28:05,884 --> 00:28:09,411 The men formed an assembly line, handing Ethan off to each other 513 00:28:09,554 --> 00:28:11,647 as they wrestled with the quicksand. 514 00:28:11,790 --> 00:28:13,348 They struggled for solid footing 515 00:28:13,491 --> 00:28:16,619 and slowly maneuvered back to their craft. 516 00:28:23,501 --> 00:28:25,025 It was close to eleven o'clock 517 00:28:25,170 --> 00:28:28,628 when the rescue team finally carried Ethan to shore. 518 00:28:30,675 --> 00:28:34,907 After seven hours in the cold swamp he was in a state of severe shock, 519 00:28:35,046 --> 00:28:36,980 and deeply hypothermic. 520 00:28:37,115 --> 00:28:41,449 His body temperature had fallen to 86.9 degrees Fahrenheit 521 00:28:41,586 --> 00:28:45,522 within just a few degrees of cardiac failure. 522 00:28:51,496 --> 00:28:53,987 Had Ethan been in the quicksand much longer, 523 00:28:54,132 --> 00:28:56,327 he may not have survived. 524 00:29:04,109 --> 00:29:05,371 Wandering into swamps 525 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:08,775 and getting stuck in quicksand is one thing. 526 00:29:10,281 --> 00:29:12,078 But Lil Judd certainly never expected 527 00:29:12,217 --> 00:29:15,015 to find it in her part of the world. 528 00:29:18,857 --> 00:29:20,017 You've heard about quicksand. 529 00:29:20,158 --> 00:29:22,183 You hear about it, but... 530 00:29:22,327 --> 00:29:25,296 but I'd be able to locate it basically in my back yard, 531 00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:27,990 no. No, that, I didn't expect. 532 00:29:33,071 --> 00:29:37,030 Though Hollywood has produced some pretty good fakes over the years, 533 00:29:37,175 --> 00:29:41,839 California seems an unlikely candidate for real quicksand. 534 00:29:41,980 --> 00:29:45,643 Of the two main ingredients, there's more than enough sand, 535 00:29:45,784 --> 00:29:49,220 but this dry state can be short on water. 536 00:29:52,891 --> 00:29:54,381 But in 1998 537 00:29:54,526 --> 00:29:58,826 heavy rains had turned a normally dry gully just east of Hollywood 538 00:29:58,963 --> 00:30:01,488 into a quicksand trap. 539 00:30:01,866 --> 00:30:03,663 We rode out on the sandbank 540 00:30:03,802 --> 00:30:06,498 and we were standing out there for maybe five minutes. 541 00:30:06,638 --> 00:30:11,541 And he decided to take a step forward and it had a drop. 542 00:30:11,676 --> 00:30:18,104 Suddenly all of him was in and I looked around and realized 543 00:30:18,449 --> 00:30:20,212 he had actually literally sunk, 544 00:30:20,351 --> 00:30:22,319 because as I'm trying to tell him "Get up," 545 00:30:22,453 --> 00:30:24,887 he's trying to get up, but he can't. 546 00:30:25,156 --> 00:30:27,488 For a moment there, I just went panicky 547 00:30:27,625 --> 00:30:31,288 and I sat down next to him and started crying. 548 00:30:31,596 --> 00:30:35,396 The thing with horses and animals in general 549 00:30:35,533 --> 00:30:37,125 when they're in a panic situation like this, 550 00:30:37,268 --> 00:30:42,262 they will either give up or very possibly they'll go insane. 551 00:30:42,407 --> 00:30:44,898 So all I could do was hope he understood 552 00:30:45,043 --> 00:30:46,567 from my tone of voice. 553 00:30:46,711 --> 00:30:48,201 I gotta go. I gotta leave you. 554 00:30:48,346 --> 00:30:50,712 I can't get you out on my own. I have to get help. 555 00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:52,373 I'll be back. Don't move. 556 00:30:52,517 --> 00:30:54,246 Lay as still as you can." 557 00:30:54,385 --> 00:30:57,047 Now Lil had to avoid getting herself trapped 558 00:30:57,188 --> 00:30:59,884 in the same quicksand that held her horse. 559 00:31:00,024 --> 00:31:02,584 I ran across this area 560 00:31:02,727 --> 00:31:06,595 and kept sinking down to my hip. 561 00:31:06,998 --> 00:31:08,329 I just grabbed at whatever I could 562 00:31:08,466 --> 00:31:09,990 and pushed against whatever I could 563 00:31:10,134 --> 00:31:13,592 and just never allowed myself to remain too long 564 00:31:13,738 --> 00:31:15,569 in the same place. 565 00:31:16,774 --> 00:31:18,366 Help was not long in coming, 566 00:31:18,509 --> 00:31:20,841 but once the rescue efforts had begun, 567 00:31:20,979 --> 00:31:25,245 destines situation quickly went from bad to worse. 568 00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:28,118 He ends up in the stream. 569 00:31:28,253 --> 00:31:31,518 And all I could think was "oh my god, 570 00:31:31,656 --> 00:31:35,990 With all these people here, he's gonna drown. 571 00:31:36,127 --> 00:31:38,254 I am going to watch him drown. 572 00:31:48,206 --> 00:31:49,798 With a lot of encouragement, 573 00:31:49,941 --> 00:31:53,900 destined was able to thrash his way out of the water, 574 00:31:54,045 --> 00:31:56,707 but the weight of his 1600 pound body, 575 00:31:56,848 --> 00:31:59,282 concentrated on four narrow hooves, 576 00:31:59,417 --> 00:32:03,478 made it impossible for the horse to get out of the quicksand. 577 00:32:13,698 --> 00:32:15,063 As a last resort, 578 00:32:15,199 --> 00:32:19,533 a helicopter was brought in to airlift him to solid ground. 579 00:32:21,439 --> 00:32:24,602 Somehow they managed to get this harness on him 580 00:32:24,742 --> 00:32:26,642 and they started lifting him. 581 00:32:34,085 --> 00:32:36,246 He is flying up in the air. 582 00:32:36,387 --> 00:32:38,855 And he's slipping out of the harness. 583 00:32:38,990 --> 00:32:44,053 And I'm saying, "Put him down. Put him down." 584 00:32:47,966 --> 00:32:51,402 But the first place destined landed wasn't solid enough 585 00:32:51,536 --> 00:32:52,935 to support his weight. 586 00:32:53,071 --> 00:32:55,164 He continued to flounder in the quicksand 587 00:32:55,306 --> 00:32:58,002 until his rescuers adjusted his harness 588 00:32:58,142 --> 00:33:00,542 and tried a second airlift. 589 00:33:05,917 --> 00:33:06,849 No one ever said, 590 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:08,782 "You know, we can't save this horse." 591 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,821 No one ever said that to me. 592 00:33:11,956 --> 00:33:15,153 And I'm sure a lot of people were thinking it 593 00:33:15,293 --> 00:33:18,558 when they saw what he looked like and where he was. 594 00:33:42,487 --> 00:33:43,351 This time, 595 00:33:43,488 --> 00:33:48,391 the helicopter pilots gently lowered destined onto firm ground. 596 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:54,156 Despite four hours in quicksand and two precarious airlifts, 597 00:33:54,298 --> 00:33:56,266 the horse was unharmed. 598 00:33:56,401 --> 00:33:59,859 He was up and walking again in just minutes. 599 00:34:02,707 --> 00:34:06,768 I am one very, very lucky horse owner! 600 00:34:06,911 --> 00:34:09,311 And he's one very, very lucky horse. 601 00:34:16,254 --> 00:34:18,745 Lil and destined were fortunate. 602 00:34:18,890 --> 00:34:23,520 There were enough people, expertise and technology to save the day. 603 00:34:23,661 --> 00:34:26,391 But that hasn't always been the case. 604 00:34:27,432 --> 00:34:28,831 In the 19th century, 605 00:34:28,966 --> 00:34:33,232 there were few resources available to American cowboys. 606 00:34:33,771 --> 00:34:37,172 While driving their herds of cattle, they encountered quicksand 607 00:34:37,308 --> 00:34:42,007 on a regular basis as they tried to ford sand-laden rivers. 608 00:34:43,848 --> 00:34:48,046 Hauling a two-ton steer out of quicksand was no easy matter. 609 00:34:48,186 --> 00:34:49,175 The best they could do was 610 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:51,880 try and pull the animals free with ropes. 611 00:34:52,023 --> 00:34:56,585 But unfortunately, things didn't always go like clockwork. 612 00:34:57,528 --> 00:34:59,462 As one weary cowboy put it, 613 00:34:59,597 --> 00:35:02,725 "this last method saved many bogged down cattle, 614 00:35:02,867 --> 00:35:07,804 but it tore the heads, horns or legs off quite a few others." 615 00:35:09,373 --> 00:35:13,639 The cattle of the old west were lost in small patches of quicksand. 616 00:35:13,778 --> 00:35:16,645 But sometimes quicksand can spread for miles... 617 00:35:16,781 --> 00:35:19,011 and swallow a city. 618 00:35:19,350 --> 00:35:24,014 Perhaps the most remarkable case occurred in 1692. 619 00:35:24,155 --> 00:35:27,090 The city of Port Royal, Jamaica - at the time, 620 00:35:27,225 --> 00:35:29,386 one of the wealthiest cities in the new world 621 00:35:29,527 --> 00:35:31,927 was resting quietly on its foundation 622 00:35:32,063 --> 00:35:36,056 a sandy spit of land 16 kilometers long. 623 00:35:37,935 --> 00:35:42,269 Just before noon on June 7 th, a huge earthquake shook the ground 624 00:35:42,406 --> 00:35:44,567 with tremendous force. 625 00:35:45,042 --> 00:35:49,274 The violent motion pushed seawater up through the loose sand. 626 00:35:49,413 --> 00:35:52,314 In a process called liquefaction, 627 00:35:52,450 --> 00:35:55,112 the entire peninsula beneath Port Royal 628 00:35:55,253 --> 00:35:57,949 turned to quicksand. 629 00:36:00,324 --> 00:36:03,259 When the shaking finally stopped after ten minutes, 630 00:36:03,394 --> 00:36:05,862 a third of the city had slid into the sea, 631 00:36:05,997 --> 00:36:08,329 and 2000 people were dead. 632 00:36:08,466 --> 00:36:10,798 The water had drained back out of the ground, 633 00:36:10,935 --> 00:36:14,803 locking people into graves of hardened quicksand. 634 00:36:18,209 --> 00:36:19,676 Written accounts from survivors 635 00:36:19,810 --> 00:36:23,268 describe some of the most horrifying moments. 636 00:36:24,048 --> 00:36:26,107 "No place suffered like Port Royal 637 00:36:26,250 --> 00:36:27,808 where whole streets were swallowed up 638 00:36:27,952 --> 00:36:29,783 by the opening earth and houses 639 00:36:29,921 --> 00:36:32,651 and inhabitants went down together... 640 00:36:32,890 --> 00:36:34,949 Some were swallowed up to the Neck, 641 00:36:35,092 --> 00:36:36,650 and then the Earth shut upon them, 642 00:36:36,794 --> 00:36:39,194 and squeezed them to death... 643 00:36:39,430 --> 00:36:42,422 some were left buried with their heads above ground. 644 00:36:44,769 --> 00:36:46,464 "The shake opened the earth; 645 00:36:46,604 --> 00:36:50,199 the seawaters flew way up and carried the people in alive. 646 00:36:50,341 --> 00:36:55,779 I lost my husband, my son and all I ever had in the world" 647 00:36:56,314 --> 00:36:59,374 Port royal went down more than 300 years ago, 648 00:36:59,517 --> 00:37:00,882 but despite the hazard, 649 00:37:00,952 --> 00:37:06,219 we still build cities on low-lying, sandy areas near rivers or the sea. 650 00:37:06,691 --> 00:37:10,957 The phenomenon of liquefaction is of vital concern to engineers 651 00:37:11,095 --> 00:37:13,859 who must factor in the risk of quicksand conditions 652 00:37:13,998 --> 00:37:17,991 whenever they plan new construction in earthquake zones. 653 00:37:18,669 --> 00:37:21,035 At the university of Bristol in England, 654 00:37:21,172 --> 00:37:23,538 Scott Steedman uses models to demonstrate 655 00:37:23,674 --> 00:37:24,971 how buildings will react 656 00:37:25,109 --> 00:37:27,543 when the ground beneath turns to quicksand, 657 00:37:27,678 --> 00:37:29,509 as it did in port royal. 658 00:37:29,647 --> 00:37:30,545 We're building a beach here 659 00:37:30,681 --> 00:37:33,343 to demonstrate some of the properties of quicksand. 660 00:37:33,484 --> 00:37:34,576 Is a special sort of quicksand, 661 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:37,620 because is a quicksand thas formed in an earthquake. 662 00:37:37,755 --> 00:37:40,690 The shaking in an earthquake creates extra water pressure 663 00:37:40,825 --> 00:37:43,851 in the ground and that boils up to the surface 664 00:37:43,995 --> 00:37:47,795 and produces all the same phenomena as quicksand. 665 00:37:48,599 --> 00:37:50,692 This is the ocean down here, 666 00:37:53,004 --> 00:37:57,805 and stretching up the slope here is the beach 667 00:37:58,276 --> 00:38:01,268 and behind the beach here is the flat ground, 668 00:38:01,412 --> 00:38:05,542 behind where you may have a town or people... 669 00:38:17,395 --> 00:38:22,025 This is quite a high building next to a rather steep slope. 670 00:38:25,770 --> 00:38:27,101 On a shaking table, 671 00:38:27,238 --> 00:38:29,365 Scott subjects his model high rise 672 00:38:29,507 --> 00:38:34,001 to simulated earthquakes of seven or eight on the Richter scale 673 00:38:34,145 --> 00:38:37,444 magnitudes easily strong enough to liquefy the earth, 674 00:38:37,581 --> 00:38:40,015 and turn it to quicksand. 675 00:38:47,358 --> 00:38:51,089 You can see how the building has sunk in and rotated here, 676 00:38:51,228 --> 00:38:53,924 mainly because the slope has given way beneath it. 677 00:38:54,065 --> 00:38:57,330 And so thas forced it to tilt over this direction. 678 00:38:57,468 --> 00:39:01,234 As the shaking progressed, the water pressure's built up 679 00:39:01,372 --> 00:39:04,933 in the sand underneath the foundation of the bottom block, 680 00:39:05,076 --> 00:39:08,671 and as that happened the ground got softer. 681 00:39:08,813 --> 00:39:12,010 And with the shaking and the frequency of the earthquake, 682 00:39:12,149 --> 00:39:15,118 it started to get more and more dramatic and in the end, 683 00:39:15,252 --> 00:39:18,619 of course, with the lean becoming more and more pronounced, 684 00:39:18,756 --> 00:39:23,455 eventually the top blocks just rolled off and fell down the hill. 685 00:39:27,665 --> 00:39:31,101 Just east of anchorage, Alaska is Turnagain arm, 686 00:39:31,235 --> 00:39:35,296 a 50 mile long fjord filled with quicksand. 687 00:39:38,275 --> 00:39:42,974 Over the eons, the slow movement of glaciers has ground hard rock 688 00:39:43,114 --> 00:39:48,074 from the mountains around the arm into an extremely fine powder. 689 00:39:48,219 --> 00:39:50,744 Meltwater carries that powder downstream 690 00:39:50,888 --> 00:39:54,085 and into the waters of Turnagain arm. 691 00:39:55,693 --> 00:39:57,126 When the tide retreats, 692 00:39:57,261 --> 00:40:00,822 a vast expanse of glacial silt is exposed. 693 00:40:00,965 --> 00:40:04,992 In Alaska, they call this the mud flats. 694 00:40:05,603 --> 00:40:09,061 But when these tiny particles mix with subsurface water 695 00:40:09,206 --> 00:40:10,639 from the incoming tide, 696 00:40:10,775 --> 00:40:16,645 this powdered rock has all the properties of deadly quicksand. 697 00:40:20,217 --> 00:40:23,584 More than a million people visit Alaska every year. 698 00:40:23,721 --> 00:40:27,680 Many of them come to enjoy the waters of Turnagain arm. 699 00:40:27,825 --> 00:40:31,226 Most have no idea they are in serious danger 700 00:40:31,362 --> 00:40:33,159 of getting stuck. 701 00:40:33,864 --> 00:40:38,198 The Lukens family has lived beside Turnagain arm for thirty years, 702 00:40:38,335 --> 00:40:40,701 but despite knowing about the quicksand, 703 00:40:40,838 --> 00:40:45,036 they've turned the fjord at low tide into a playground. 704 00:40:47,144 --> 00:40:49,169 We've never had any trouble getting out of the mud. 705 00:40:49,313 --> 00:40:50,405 Of course, you know, we don't sit there 706 00:40:50,548 --> 00:40:52,482 and see how deeply we can get ourselves imbedded either. 707 00:40:52,616 --> 00:40:54,106 We try and get out right away and move... 708 00:40:54,251 --> 00:40:57,152 As long as you keep moving you really don't get stuck. 709 00:40:58,522 --> 00:41:01,218 So far the Lukens have been lucky. 710 00:41:01,358 --> 00:41:04,020 But thas not always the case. 711 00:41:04,161 --> 00:41:05,753 Most people are tourists, and they go out there 712 00:41:05,896 --> 00:41:09,059 and they think it is a relatively safe area 713 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:10,292 They play around with it 714 00:41:10,434 --> 00:41:14,393 They know the stuck of this kind of lake jelow 715 00:41:14,538 --> 00:41:16,130 and they stay with it and then they play with it. 716 00:41:16,273 --> 00:41:19,709 And then they get one ankle stuck and they try to pull that out. 717 00:41:19,844 --> 00:41:22,506 They get the second ankle stuck and pretty soon they're 718 00:41:22,646 --> 00:41:24,705 they're in up over their knees. 719 00:41:25,549 --> 00:41:28,677 As usual, quicksand is just the trap. 720 00:41:28,819 --> 00:41:32,255 In Turnagain arm, the real killers are the cold water, 721 00:41:32,389 --> 00:41:36,325 and the enormous tide, the second highest in the world. 722 00:41:36,460 --> 00:41:39,793 It is swift and extreme, rising forty feet 723 00:41:39,930 --> 00:41:41,864 in less than six hours. 724 00:41:41,999 --> 00:41:45,298 Rescuing people from quicksand is tough enough. 725 00:41:45,436 --> 00:41:50,135 Trying to beat a racing tide ups the stakes dramatically. 726 00:41:51,275 --> 00:41:54,073 Four times a year, the Girdwood fire department 727 00:41:54,211 --> 00:41:57,078 runs a thorough simulation to check their gear, 728 00:41:57,214 --> 00:41:59,580 and make sure every member of the team is ready 729 00:41:59,717 --> 00:42:02,880 for a real life quicksand rescue. 730 00:42:03,153 --> 00:42:05,986 Dan sill is the operations commander. 731 00:42:06,490 --> 00:42:08,481 When we show up on scene we are going to go out, 732 00:42:08,626 --> 00:42:10,526 we are going to evaluate the situation, 733 00:42:10,661 --> 00:42:12,128 evaluate the mud and the currents 734 00:42:12,263 --> 00:42:14,128 and the tides and the winds and everything else. 735 00:42:14,265 --> 00:42:15,630 We'll make a game plan. 736 00:42:15,766 --> 00:42:19,031 We'll either set up a person here or here. 737 00:42:19,169 --> 00:42:23,367 Everything we do out there, we've trained for it numerous times. 738 00:42:23,507 --> 00:42:26,567 Everybody knows what the game plan is, including the victim. 739 00:42:26,710 --> 00:42:27,938 We'll take Bob out there 740 00:42:28,078 --> 00:42:31,445 and put him the mud no more than his knees. 741 00:42:35,185 --> 00:42:39,849 There are plenty of suitable areas in Turnagain arm to stage a drill. 742 00:42:41,358 --> 00:42:44,953 Some of the worst quicksand is just off the highway. 743 00:42:49,633 --> 00:42:53,364 This silty peninsula thirty-five miles east of Anchorage 744 00:42:53,504 --> 00:42:57,372 is perfect for testing the Girdwood team's rescue skills. 745 00:42:57,508 --> 00:43:00,238 It has all the hazards they face on real calls, 746 00:43:00,377 --> 00:43:04,313 including the debilitating element of cold. 747 00:43:04,915 --> 00:43:07,281 This mud is the same temperature water is 748 00:43:07,418 --> 00:43:10,478 about 45 degrees, which is really, really cold. 749 00:43:10,621 --> 00:43:11,349 And if you're out here 750 00:43:11,488 --> 00:43:13,513 without the proper protective equipment on, 751 00:43:13,657 --> 00:43:15,420 you're gonna get hypothermic 752 00:43:15,559 --> 00:43:17,390 when you struggle to get out of it. 753 00:43:17,528 --> 00:43:18,460 You're gonna get cold. 754 00:43:18,596 --> 00:43:19,790 You're gonna get exhausted, 755 00:43:19,930 --> 00:43:23,127 and you're going to take and go down and die real quick. 756 00:43:23,634 --> 00:43:25,864 Having the right clothes can make the difference 757 00:43:26,003 --> 00:43:29,632 between a successful rescue and a fatality. 758 00:43:30,908 --> 00:43:34,901 Full dry suits, life jackets, and helmets protect the men 759 00:43:35,045 --> 00:43:36,672 and increase the amount of time 760 00:43:36,814 --> 00:43:41,342 they can spend working to free a victim from cold quicksand. 761 00:43:41,485 --> 00:43:45,046 Mike Tumey has been with the department for more than a decade. 762 00:43:45,189 --> 00:43:49,250 He knows all too well the pressure of trying to rescue someone trapped 763 00:43:49,393 --> 00:43:51,554 and in desperate circumstances. 764 00:43:51,695 --> 00:43:52,787 In 1988, 765 00:43:52,930 --> 00:43:55,922 he witnessed one of the saddest quicksand tragedies 766 00:43:56,066 --> 00:43:58,364 in recent Alaskan history. 767 00:43:59,570 --> 00:44:02,095 Mr. And Mrs. Dickison were newlyweds 768 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:04,969 and, ah, they had a little more gumption 769 00:44:05,109 --> 00:44:06,736 than most of us and had chose to 770 00:44:06,877 --> 00:44:10,404 spend their honeymoon, ah, gold mining up in Seattle Creek, 771 00:44:10,547 --> 00:44:12,447 which is just around the corner here. 772 00:44:12,583 --> 00:44:14,312 To get there in their four-wheeler, 773 00:44:14,451 --> 00:44:17,284 they had to travel across the mud flats. 774 00:44:17,688 --> 00:44:21,124 Jay and Adeana Dickison headed out early in the morning 775 00:44:21,258 --> 00:44:23,158 to catch the low tide... 776 00:44:23,427 --> 00:44:25,622 Just three hundred yards off shore, 777 00:44:25,763 --> 00:44:29,130 their four wheeler bogged down in the silt. 778 00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:32,594 Adeana jumped off to push from behind. 779 00:44:35,973 --> 00:44:38,669 But struggling with the atv liquified the ground 780 00:44:38,809 --> 00:44:42,245 beneath her feet and she sank up to her knees. 781 00:44:44,481 --> 00:44:45,675 When she stopped moving 782 00:44:45,816 --> 00:44:49,843 the quicksand closed around her legs with an iron grip. 783 00:44:50,354 --> 00:44:54,085 Her husband labored frantically, but after three hours 784 00:44:54,224 --> 00:44:57,625 he had only managed to free one of Adeana's legs. 785 00:44:57,928 --> 00:44:59,759 By the time jay ran for help, 786 00:44:59,897 --> 00:45:02,957 the tide was pouring into Turnagain arm. 787 00:45:04,968 --> 00:45:06,629 About nine o'clock in the morning 788 00:45:06,770 --> 00:45:10,467 we got a call for a, ah, possible victim 789 00:45:10,607 --> 00:45:12,131 stuck in the mud. 790 00:45:12,276 --> 00:45:13,743 We responded from the station. 791 00:45:13,877 --> 00:45:17,005 Is about a half-hour response time to this location, 792 00:45:17,147 --> 00:45:19,342 hiked on the trail with all of our equipment 793 00:45:19,717 --> 00:45:21,014 As I reached the shoreline, 794 00:45:21,151 --> 00:45:24,416 I heard the screams of a young woman crying for help 795 00:45:24,555 --> 00:45:27,183 "Please don't let me drown. Please save me." 796 00:45:28,158 --> 00:45:31,059 There was a, ah, woman trapped in the rising waters 797 00:45:31,195 --> 00:45:33,356 with the water just below her chin. 798 00:45:35,365 --> 00:45:36,696 I went below the surface to try 799 00:45:36,834 --> 00:45:38,495 and feel what was taking place there, 800 00:45:38,635 --> 00:45:41,934 I felt her leg and it seemed to disappear in the sand 801 00:45:42,072 --> 00:45:44,597 and I thought, "She's buried all the way up to her knees," 802 00:45:44,742 --> 00:45:47,108 you know, probably straight down. 803 00:45:47,244 --> 00:45:50,008 And at that point I tried to tug on her leg, 804 00:45:50,147 --> 00:45:52,172 But when I came up, I saw her gasping for breath. 805 00:45:52,316 --> 00:45:54,580 So every time I tugged her, I pulled her under. 806 00:45:54,718 --> 00:45:55,742 Each time is violent. 807 00:45:55,886 --> 00:45:57,751 I'm pulling with even more strength now, 808 00:45:57,888 --> 00:45:59,947 but each time is jerking her under the water 809 00:46:00,090 --> 00:46:02,786 and thrashing her at the same time. 810 00:46:03,093 --> 00:46:05,721 I go under again to try and free her leg 811 00:46:05,863 --> 00:46:10,527 and when I come back up she's under the water now. 812 00:46:10,667 --> 00:46:11,691 The tide's gone over her hand 813 00:46:11,835 --> 00:46:15,669 and everything was in a... small circle. 814 00:46:15,806 --> 00:46:18,969 All I could see was this little area here in front of me, 815 00:46:19,109 --> 00:46:21,077 but I'm looking down into her face 816 00:46:21,211 --> 00:46:24,510 and she's under the water holding her breath. 817 00:46:24,648 --> 00:46:26,445 And I'm thinking, you know, 818 00:46:26,583 --> 00:46:28,312 "What a desperate situation this is. 819 00:46:28,452 --> 00:46:29,043 What a... you know, 820 00:46:29,186 --> 00:46:32,553 this brave woman she, despite all the odds, 821 00:46:32,689 --> 00:46:34,657 she's gonna... she's gonna stick with us. 822 00:46:34,792 --> 00:46:37,352 She's gonna fight with us all the way to the end." 823 00:46:37,494 --> 00:46:39,962 Anyway, I didn't know what to do. 824 00:46:40,097 --> 00:46:42,531 She's underwater now and she's holding her breath 825 00:46:42,666 --> 00:46:46,124 and, I can't thrash her now because she's got one breath left. 826 00:46:46,270 --> 00:46:49,137 At that point, ah, her husband took a... 827 00:46:49,273 --> 00:46:51,207 a tube off their suction dredge 828 00:46:51,341 --> 00:46:52,808 and they stuck it in her mouth. 829 00:46:52,943 --> 00:46:56,538 And, I... I stroked her forehead and said, 830 00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:57,874 "Just keep breathing," 831 00:46:58,015 --> 00:47:00,643 and I went down again to try and free her leg 832 00:47:00,784 --> 00:47:03,184 and I just pulled as hard as I possibly could 833 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:04,844 and I just sat there. 834 00:47:04,988 --> 00:47:06,785 "We've got to get her out," you know, 835 00:47:06,924 --> 00:47:10,860 pulling as hard as I possibly can and, ah, I couldn't free her. 836 00:47:12,496 --> 00:47:14,726 While mike struggled beneath the surface, 837 00:47:14,865 --> 00:47:16,992 the tide continued to rise. 838 00:47:17,134 --> 00:47:21,798 When he finally came up for air, Adeana Dickison had drowned. 839 00:47:24,474 --> 00:47:28,808 It wasn't until low tide later that afternoon 840 00:47:28,946 --> 00:47:31,779 the, ah, rescuers that went back to recover her, ah, 841 00:47:31,915 --> 00:47:34,315 found her, ah, still where we'd left her, 842 00:47:34,451 --> 00:47:39,388 ah, still trapped just from the knee down by one leg in the mud 843 00:47:39,523 --> 00:47:41,650 and at an angle like this. 844 00:47:41,792 --> 00:47:43,783 The tide had come in swept over her, 845 00:47:43,927 --> 00:47:47,522 gone back out with all that force and that leg was still trapped, 846 00:47:47,664 --> 00:47:48,961 snared in that mud. 847 00:47:49,099 --> 00:47:51,124 They had to dig her out with shovels. 848 00:47:52,169 --> 00:47:55,434 The tragedy devastated the Girdwood team. 849 00:47:55,572 --> 00:47:59,099 On that fateful day, they were beaten by the rising tide 850 00:47:59,243 --> 00:48:01,211 and a lack of time. 851 00:48:01,345 --> 00:48:03,006 For more than eleven years 852 00:48:03,146 --> 00:48:06,638 they've continued searching for ways to perfect their techniques 853 00:48:06,783 --> 00:48:09,308 and speed up their operation. 854 00:48:09,453 --> 00:48:12,251 I literally spent months and months 855 00:48:12,389 --> 00:48:15,153 dreaming and fantasizing about a tool 856 00:48:15,292 --> 00:48:19,729 that I could build that I could expedite the rescue. 857 00:48:19,863 --> 00:48:22,229 And literally in minutes. 858 00:48:22,666 --> 00:48:24,827 What Dan sill came up with turned 859 00:48:24,968 --> 00:48:30,065 the Girdwood team's greatest enemy into their most important ally. 860 00:48:30,207 --> 00:48:34,473 Water became the key component in their fight against the clock. 861 00:48:34,611 --> 00:48:37,102 For everything to work, the floating pump 862 00:48:37,247 --> 00:48:41,843 which capitalizes on the water around them must be kept running. 863 00:48:42,986 --> 00:48:46,649 I just want you guys to make certain if something does happen 864 00:48:46,790 --> 00:48:48,849 and does go wrong that we are relyin' on you. 865 00:48:48,992 --> 00:48:53,053 So no matter what it takes, that pump is your responsibility. 866 00:48:53,196 --> 00:48:55,687 You can not let it shut off. 867 00:48:55,832 --> 00:48:56,958 I don't want to freak you out or anything, 868 00:48:57,100 --> 00:49:00,126 but once Bob's in the mud he's our responsibility. 869 00:49:00,270 --> 00:49:02,898 So we're not gonna let him die. 870 00:49:04,241 --> 00:49:05,606 OK, I'm up to my knees 871 00:49:05,742 --> 00:49:07,972 Feel like you're sinking anymore? 872 00:49:08,111 --> 00:49:09,339 A little. 873 00:49:10,681 --> 00:49:11,909 I'm ready. 874 00:49:13,917 --> 00:49:15,407 You ready? Ready. 875 00:49:18,722 --> 00:49:20,349 Go ahead, fire it up! 876 00:49:21,692 --> 00:49:24,422 The float-a-pump sucks water up through the hose 877 00:49:24,561 --> 00:49:27,826 and into a long perforated metal tube. 878 00:49:37,207 --> 00:49:41,143 High pressure blasts of water liquefy the dense quicksand 879 00:49:41,278 --> 00:49:44,441 and unlock the grip on Bob's legs. 880 00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:54,282 With the new device, the extrication takes less than a minute. 881 00:49:55,392 --> 00:49:59,328 After each run-through, the team gathers for a debriefing. 882 00:49:59,463 --> 00:50:00,987 I could not move my legs I could feel it. 883 00:50:01,131 --> 00:50:02,598 It felt like cement was around them. 884 00:50:02,733 --> 00:50:03,893 And the more I tried 885 00:50:04,034 --> 00:50:05,626 before Scott was there, I was just playing around 886 00:50:05,769 --> 00:50:08,067 but the more I tried the further I was sinking. 887 00:50:08,205 --> 00:50:09,672 The thing is, what typically these people do, 888 00:50:09,806 --> 00:50:14,470 and I was watchin' you do that, is, ah, they'll get one foot stuck, 889 00:50:14,611 --> 00:50:16,169 so they'll try to pull this one out. 890 00:50:16,313 --> 00:50:17,177 This one goes deeper. 891 00:50:17,314 --> 00:50:18,975 Then they realize that and they go, 892 00:50:19,116 --> 00:50:20,014 "I'll stand on this foot," 893 00:50:20,150 --> 00:50:21,640 and they'll try to pull that out. 894 00:50:21,785 --> 00:50:22,774 Then that one goes deeper. 895 00:50:22,919 --> 00:50:24,944 So they're caught in a see-saw motion 896 00:50:25,088 --> 00:50:26,316 where they're goin' back and forth 897 00:50:26,456 --> 00:50:28,720 and they're actually forcin' themselves to get deeper. 898 00:50:28,859 --> 00:50:31,419 So once both feet are in what are you going to do 899 00:50:31,561 --> 00:50:33,324 if you can't get either one of them out? 900 00:50:33,463 --> 00:50:35,021 Concentrate on one foot. 901 00:50:35,165 --> 00:50:38,430 Wiggle one foot to get one foot out. 902 00:50:38,568 --> 00:50:41,628 That foot gets on the highest piece of ground that you can find. 903 00:50:41,772 --> 00:50:43,740 Then you work on that one. 904 00:50:43,874 --> 00:50:46,843 And vibration is whall get it out. 905 00:50:46,977 --> 00:50:47,636 What if both are in 906 00:50:47,778 --> 00:50:49,473 and you aren't getting them to move at all? 907 00:50:49,613 --> 00:50:51,376 You need to fall forward on your belly, 908 00:50:51,515 --> 00:50:53,779 get all your weight off... off... 909 00:50:53,917 --> 00:50:56,579 Sometimes is not possible because you're up to your knees. 910 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,087 What you have to do is get the weight off of one point 911 00:51:00,223 --> 00:51:04,023 and work to get one... one leg out or one foot out, 912 00:51:04,161 --> 00:51:07,324 roll 'til you can get the other one out, 913 00:51:07,464 --> 00:51:09,864 do a roll and run for high ground. 914 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,366 The bottom line is... is you shouldn't be out there. 915 00:51:12,502 --> 00:51:16,131 Is there's nothing... nothing for you out there. 916 00:51:16,273 --> 00:51:21,267 It is just nothing but danger, and I've said it again 917 00:51:21,411 --> 00:51:23,208 and I've said it before. 918 00:51:23,346 --> 00:51:24,711 Is you're flirting with the devil. 919 00:51:24,848 --> 00:51:27,214 You're literally flirting with the devil. 920 00:51:27,984 --> 00:51:30,248 Sadly, Dan and his colleagues, 921 00:51:30,387 --> 00:51:32,651 along with rescuers around the world, 922 00:51:32,789 --> 00:51:35,724 fight that devil all too often. 923 00:51:36,059 --> 00:51:39,153 Quicksand by itself is not the killer, 924 00:51:39,296 --> 00:51:41,628 but locked in its relentless grip, 925 00:51:41,765 --> 00:51:43,858 any one of is accomplices: 926 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:49,199 Time, tide, cold or heat can finish us off. 927 00:51:49,506 --> 00:51:53,306 Again and again, we seem to ignore the warning signs 928 00:51:53,443 --> 00:51:57,880 and fall prey to one of the worls most insidious traps. 929 00:51:59,749 --> 00:52:02,809 Quicksand can be found almost anywhere. 930 00:52:02,953 --> 00:52:06,184 So the safest bet is to watch your step.