Jamie Acord and her husband Patrick They were enjoying a quiet walk on a beach in the Popham Beach State Park in Phippsburg, Maine, United States, when the unimaginable happened: Jamie was trapped in quicksand up to her waist. This episode, which seems straight out of a movie, left the couple shocked and worried about safety on that popular beach.
“It was literally like I had fallen down a sewer.“, Acord told People. And he added: “We were walking, just talking, and suddenly I fell in the sand.”
The event happened so quickly that Acord barely had time to react. “I just fell like a stone,” Acord told WCSHmedia affiliate of NBC. “I was there and the next minute I was gone.”he recalled.
As Acord tried to stay calm, she said to her husband: “I cant go out“, as he told the agency AP. Patrick acted quickly and, with effort, managed to get her out of the sand trap. Fortunately, Jamie only suffered a few scratches, but the experience left an indelible impression.
“It was one of those moments when I didn’t know what to do.. This is something new that has never happened to me before. And I go to that beach all the time,” Acord said. The sand had filled the hole in an instant, leaving the couple perplexed: “It looked like the beach. She had filled up again.”.
Determined to alert others to this hidden danger, Jamie shared her experience on social media to warn especially those who walk alone on the beach at dusk. “If the beach is clearing, there are only one or two people on the beach and you fall into something like that and you don’t know what to do or you can’t get out, you’re like trapped,” the woman explained.
After his terrifying experience, Acord reiterated that the situation could have been much worse if someone less prepared had been alone on the beach. “A child would be scared“, said.
Jim Brittspokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, told the AP This incident is not unusual. “The reality with this oversaturated sand is that you will not sink. It’s even more unstable and it’s very easy to sink into,” Britt told WCSH.
Britt also highlighted that climate change has been a factor in what happened. Winter storms changed the direction of the morse river, that redirected water toward sandy areas more likely to be walked on by visitors. “The sand is saturated with water“Britt added due to the instability of the terrain.
However, Britt assured that these types of situations have a solution if handled properly. “The rule is to stay calm, lean back. Find your way back,” she explained.
Sean Vaillancourt, Popham Beach administrator for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, echoed these tips and told WFXT: “Take your time and go out if necessary. You can also lean forward or backward in a floating position. The more you can distribute your weight over that, the more freely you can move.”
Quicksand, technically known as supersaturated sand, is not only real in exotic places like jungles or tropical forests; They can also be found on beaches like Popham Beach. “People hear the word quicksand and think of a jungle movie. The reality with this oversaturated sand is that you are not going to sinkBritt emphasized.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands took steps to prevent future incidents, including placing signage throughout the beach to warn visitors on the supersaturated sand.
