Terrifying footage shows the moment a teenager becomes stuck in the mud on the beach as the tide rises.
It happened on June 26 at the Encinal Boat Ramp in Alameda and the clip shows the 14-year-old almost completely submerged when authorities arrived. He had been playing in the water, firefighters later confirmed to DailyMail.com.
It then shows the desperate attempt to save him, carried out by a coalition of police officers and firefighters. It was filmed by a firefighter from an inflatable rescue boat as they arrived at the scene to help, the representative said.
The footage continues with the team eventually freeing the boy after using ‘several methods’, including freeing the victim’s legs which were stuck in the mud below. Swimmers took turns going underwater to do this, as the tide continued to rise.
The attempt ultimately proved successful, with his rescuers later comparing the invisible mud to quicksand.
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Terrifying footage shows the moment a teenager becomes stuck in the mud on the beach as the tide rises.
The incident occurred just after noon, officials added, and the victim has since been taken to a local hospital for observation. He has not been named, but firefighters recalled the scare in a later social media post.
“The Alameda Fire Department responded to a report of a teenager stuck in the mud next to the Encinal Boat Ramp just after 12:00 AM on 6/26/2024,” the statement on the fire department’s Instagram profile reads.
Just hours later, it was reported that officers from the Alameda Police Department (APD) were the first on the scene to begin the rescue effort.
“On arrival it was found that the victim was badly stuck in the mud as the tide was rising,” the bulletin said.
‘AFD and APD worked together to rescue the victim using a variety of methods.
‘The victim was pulled from the water and taken to hospital for observation.’
No further details were given in the statement, but a fire department spokesperson provided more insight in a statement on Monday.
“The victim was a 14-year-old male who was in the water playing and the tide was rising and the water level was up to the victim’s neck when he was removed,” said Kevin Tidwell, PIO for the Alameda Fire Department.
The video was taken by one of the firefighters in the inflatable rescue boat who was on site to provide assistance.
“A majority of Alameda’s firefighters are trained and certified as Open Water Rescue Swimmers. Our firefighter/rescue swimmers respond to water emergencies using rescue boards, rescue boats or by swimming to the victim,” he said.
It happened on June 26 at the Encinal Boat Ramp in Alameda. The clip shows the young man almost completely submerged when emergency services arrived.
Next, the desperate attempt to save him is shown, carried out by a coalition of police officers and firefighters, with one seen almost completely submerged as they tried to pry him free.
The operation was ultimately successful, as evidenced by a rescue worker’s thumbs up. The man was then taken to a hospital for “observation.” His condition is unknown.
“In this case, multiple Alameda firefighters and an Alameda police officer performed the rescue by attempting to free the victim’s legs, which were stuck in extremely soft mud, resembling quicksand,” the firefighter continued.
‘Rescue swimmers took turns going underwater to dig out the victims’ feet and finally used a hose from a fire truck on land to ‘hydro-mine’ the mud to loosen it and free the victim.’
No name has been released for the boy, but the accompanying video showing the authorities’ response tells most of the story.
The video lasts only a few seconds and shows a team of at least six people successfully freeing the boy from his underwater prison.
One of the rescuers can also be seen almost completely submerged, upside down with his feet sticking out of the water, presumably trying to loosen the grip of the mud.
Meanwhile, four others were seen surrounding the swimmer and somehow keeping his head above water as the tide continued to rise.
Although his face is censored, he appears to be gasping for breath and exhausted, suggesting the footage was taken at least a few minutes after the crisis began.
It’s unclear how long the teen was actually trapped, but as one commentator noted, the rescue was desperately needed.
“Looks like you saved him just in time,” the bystander wrote.