Man rescued after his canoe became stuck in mud in the River Itchen, Southampton
Yesterday, Saturday 25 March at
approximately 1.30 pm, the UK Coastguard was asked to assist the Hampshire Fire
and Rescue Service to rescue a man stranded in his kayak in mud near Northern
Bridge in Southampton.
The Lymington and Hill Head Coastguard
Mud Rescue Teams, with the support of Southampton Coastguard Rescue Team, were
sent to assist the Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Police. The kayaker
was stranded far away from the river edge. With the use of
specialist mud rescue equipment, members of the Hill Head and Lymington team
managed to bring the man back to safety, where he was transferred into the care
of the South Central Ambulance Service.
Colin Tabor, Station Officer of the
Lymington Coastguard Rescue Team said: ‘This was a technically difficult
rescue. Although the gentleman appeared safe and well and was happy to wait
until the tide came back in, he would have had to wait about 8 hours.
Thankfully we were able to help him back to shore using our specialist rescue
equipment.’
Footage of the rescue is available on
the UK News in Pictures YouTube account at: http://ow.ly/yS3F30agprw.
Important Information
About the Dangers of Mud & Quicksand:
If you become stuck in mud our advice is always the same ‘Stay calm, try and spread your weight as much as possible and avoid moving. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Anybody trapped should also discourage other well-meaning members of the public from attempting to rescue them because without the proper equipment they could become stuck too.’
A significant part of the UK coastline could be categorised as soft ground. This will be mainly mud or quicksand. In either case it means that the foreshore is low lying, open to the elements, tidal and not accessible to unaided conventional vehicles. The UK Coastguard uses the generic term ‘mud rescue’ to cover mud, quicksand and any other substance on the shorelines from which a casualty needs rescuing.
Coastguard specific techniques and practices are designed to cope with mud, sand and quicksand. Unlike mud, quicksand is not obvious to the eye and there is generally little or no warning of the transition from firm sand to quicksand. Pockets of quicksand are always on the move and will be different positions with every successive tide. People can find themselves in soft ground either when the surface is so soft that they simply sink to a point where movement becomes impossible, or they break through a layer of relatively firm mud into a soft bubble described above. Invariably, with quicksand there is generally little or no warning of transition from firm sand to quicksand.
People can also require rescue as a result of exhaustion while trying to wade through soft ground for all they may not be trapped. In all cases, the casualty may be at risk from incoming tide. The effect in both cases is that when the person tries to pull their legs free they create a vacuum underneath their feet and around the leg which prevents escape and further movement can make the situation worse. One immediate measure that can be taken to prevent the casualty sinking further is to sit on the surface of the mud/quicksand, thus spreading the load and may reduce further risk to injured casualties.
If you become stuck in mud our advice is always the same ‘Stay calm, try and spread your weight as much as possible and avoid moving. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Anybody trapped should also discourage other well-meaning members of the public from attempting to rescue them because without the proper equipment they could become stuck too.’
A significant part of the UK coastline could be categorised as soft ground. This will be mainly mud or quicksand. In either case it means that the foreshore is low lying, open to the elements, tidal and not accessible to unaided conventional vehicles. The UK Coastguard uses the generic term ‘mud rescue’ to cover mud, quicksand and any other substance on the shorelines from which a casualty needs rescuing.
Coastguard specific techniques and practices are designed to cope with mud, sand and quicksand. Unlike mud, quicksand is not obvious to the eye and there is generally little or no warning of the transition from firm sand to quicksand. Pockets of quicksand are always on the move and will be different positions with every successive tide. People can find themselves in soft ground either when the surface is so soft that they simply sink to a point where movement becomes impossible, or they break through a layer of relatively firm mud into a soft bubble described above. Invariably, with quicksand there is generally little or no warning of transition from firm sand to quicksand.
People can also require rescue as a result of exhaustion while trying to wade through soft ground for all they may not be trapped. In all cases, the casualty may be at risk from incoming tide. The effect in both cases is that when the person tries to pull their legs free they create a vacuum underneath their feet and around the leg which prevents escape and further movement can make the situation worse. One immediate measure that can be taken to prevent the casualty sinking further is to sit on the surface of the mud/quicksand, thus spreading the load and may reduce further risk to injured casualties.
