Terrifying footage shows the moment a teenager became trapped in mud on the beach as the tide came in.
The incident occurred near the Encinal boat ramp in Alameda on June 26, and the video shows the 14-year-old boy almost completely submerged when firefighters arrived. He had been playing in the water, firefighters later confirmed to DailyMail.com.
The frantic effort to rescue him by a coalition of police and firefighters is then shown. It was filmed by a firefighter from an inflatable rescue boat as they were on the scene providing assistance, the representative said.
The video continues until the team finally frees the boy, after using “a variety of methods” including freeing the victim’s legs stuck in the mud below. The swimmers took turns diving underwater to do so, as the tide continued to rise.
The effort ultimately proved successful, as his rescuers later compared the invisible mud to quicksand.
Scroll down to watch the video:
Terrifying footage shows the moment a teenager became trapped in mud on the beach as the tide came in.
The incident occurred shortly after 12 noon, authorities added, and the victim was taken to a local hospital for observation. His name has not been released, but firefighters recalled the scare in a subsequent post on social media.
‘The Alameda Fire Department responded to a report of a teenager trapped in the mud adjacent to the Encinal Boat Ramp shortly after 12:00 p.m. on June 26, 2024,’ the statement on the fire department’s Instagram profile read.
Posted just hours later, it added that Alameda Police (APD) officers were the first to arrive at the scene to begin the rescue.
“Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was significantly entangled in mud due to the rising tide,” the bulletin continued.
‘AFD and APD worked together to effectuate the rescue of the victim using a variety of methods.
‘The victim was pulled from the water and taken to hospital for observation.’
The statement did not provide further details, but a fire department representative provided more information in a statement Monday.
“The victim was a 14-year-old male who was playing in the water. The tide was coming in and the water level was about neck-deep at the time he was rescued,” said Kevin Tidwell, public information officer for the Alameda Fire Department.
The video was taken by one of the firefighters in the inflatable rescue boat who was at the scene helping.
“Most Alameda firefighters are trained and certified as open water rescue swimmers. Our firefighters/rescue swimmers respond to water rescue emergencies using rescue boards, rescue boats or by swimming to the victim,” he said.
It happened near the Encinal boat ramp in Alameda on June 26, and the clip shows the young man almost completely submerged when officers arrived.
The frantic rescue effort by a coalition of police and firefighters is then shown, with one man seen almost completely underwater as they worked to free him.
The operation was successful, as confirmed by the approval of one of the rescuers. The man was taken to a hospital for “observation.” His condition remains unknown.
“In this case, several Alameda firefighters and one Alameda police officer conducted the rescue by attempting to free the victim’s legs that were stuck in extremely soft mud that was similar to quicksand,” the firefighter continued.
‘Rescue swimmers took turns diving underwater to pull out the victims’ feet and eventually used a hose from a fire truck on shore to ‘hydromine’ the mud and loosen it enough to free the victim.’
A name was not provided for the boy, but the attached video showing officials’ response tells most of the story.
The video, just a few seconds long, shows a team of at least six people successfully removing the boy from his underwater prison.
One of the rescuers is also seen almost completely submerged, face down with his feet out of the water as he presumably worked to loosen the mud’s grip.
Meanwhile, four other people were seen surrounding the swimmer, somehow managing to keep his head above water as the tide continued to rise.
Although his face is censored, he appears to be out of breath and exhausted, suggesting he was filmed at least a few minutes after the start of the seizure.
It remains unclear how long the teenager was actually trapped, but as one commentator noted, the rescue was much needed.
“Looks like you saved him just in time,” the viewer wrote.
