Firefighters in the midst of an urgent rescue operation.
“Help! Someone is stuck in the mud and sinking deeper!” On the afternoon of January 28th, urgent cries for help pierced the winter quiet on a rural path in the Baijing Orchard residential area of Lanxi Town, Xishui County, Huanggang, Hubei. An elderly man in his sixties had accidentally stepped into soft mud while fishing by a pond, and his body was sinking continuously, putting his life in grave danger.
Upon receiving the alarm, the Caihong Avenue Fire and Rescue Station in Xishui County quickly dispatched one vehicle and six personnel to the scene. As the location was deep in the countryside with narrow, rugged roads impassable for the fire truck, the rescuers transferred to a villager’s small vehicle, racing against time to reach the site.
The scene upon arrival was distressing: the elderly man was trapped in the center of the mud pit, his lower body already swallowed by the dark, viscous sludge. He could barely maintain his balance by holding onto the arm of a villager and a tree branch. His face was pale, his lips purple, and he was shivering from the cold.
“Don’t panic, sir, we’re here, we will get you out!” The firefighters gently reassured the man and quickly formulated a rescue plan. The mud was soft, and approaching rashly risked getting stuck. The rescuers immediately borrowed wide wooden planks and shovels from nearby homes. They laid the planks on the surface of the mud to create a temporary load-bearing path and carefully approached the man.
Once close, one firefighter quickly crouched down and securely fastened a safety rope around the man’s waist, pulling it tight to prevent further sinking. Other firefighters used shovels to carefully clear the mud around him, gradually loosening its grip on his body. “Hang in there, sir, we’ll clear it slowly, we’ll have you out soon.” Throughout the rescue, the firefighters’ comforting words never ceased, helping the tense man gradually relax.
Firefighters on the bank held the safety rope ready to pull, while those in the mud pit worked together to support the man under his arms and back. Using the planks for support, they steadily and slowly pulled, bit by bit “extracting” the man from the mud. In the biting cold wind, the rescuers’ hands turned red, and their clothes were covered in mud. After nearly an hour of intense effort, the man was finally successfully pulled from the mud pit.
To prevent hypothermia, the firefighters immediately carried the man to a safe area on the bank. They lit a fire to warm him, carefully washed the mud from his body with warm water, and then wrapped him tightly in a prepared quilt to drive away the chill. It was understood that the man had heard there were fish in the pond and went with villagers to catch them, accidentally stepping into a deep muddy area. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and the man was unharmed apart from minor frostbite and shock.
Fire departments remind the public that mud in ponds, marshes, and similar areas is often soft in winter, making it easy for people to become trapped. The public is urged not to enter unknown wild waters for fishing or recreation. If one accidentally becomes stuck in mud, do not struggle blindly. Stay calm, call for help immediately to alert others and contact emergency services, and wait for professional rescuers to arrive and handle the situation.
