A man died in Alaska on Sunday after being trapped waist-deep in mudflats and submerged by the incoming tide, state troopers said.
Zachary Porter, 20, of Illinois, became trapped in the mudflats in Turnagain Arm at low tide near Hope on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, Alaska State Police said in a statement.
Porter was walking through the mud with three friends when he got stuck at 5:52 pm, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska State Police.
Rescuers were unable to free him before the tide came in and covered him, and Porter died at 6:43 p.m., the law enforcement agency said.
The Turnagain Arm is a body of water that has one of the fastest incoming tides in the world, McDaniel said. Muddy marshes are known locally to be extremely dangerous, he said.
“What looks like solid ground can turn into quicksand with little or no warning,” McDaniel said.
The party was about 50 to 100 feet offshore, off Hope Highway, when Porter got stuck. A friend immediately called 911, McDaniel said. Porter’s body was recovered Monday morning.
Rescues happen in the mudflats at Turnagain Arm, but it’s been decades since there’s been a death there, as far as state troopers know, McDaniel said.
The Girdwood Fire Department responded to assist in the local rescue, but they were in transit when water covered the victim.
Girdwood Fire Chief Michelle Weston said during mud rescues, firefighters will use a penetrating nozzle about 5 to 6 feet long to inject water around a trapped person. Firefighters use floorboards to give them a stable platform to stand on.
“As you free up a body part, you put it on the board and keep going,” he said.
Rescues can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes or more, and they may be fighting against the current. Water, regardless of the time of year, can also cause hypothermia in victims, Weston said.
“They lose their ability to help rescue themselves,” Weston said. His fire department rescued a fisherman two weeks ago and a surveyor in October, both of whom were trapped.
People are urged to stay away from mudflats, but if anyone gets stuck, they are urged to call 911 immediately, McDaniel said.
“We would rather hear that you were able to rescue yourself and get out of there than wait too long,” he said.