Woman rescued from quicksand on Adelaide beach
Quick Look
- A 20-year-old woman, Madz June, was rescued from quicksand at Glenelg North beach in Adelaide after her leg became trapped.
- Emergency services, including police and firefighters, extricated her after she was stuck for about an hour as the tide came in.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Madz June, a 20-year-old TAFE student, was walking on the beach at Glenelg North in Adelaide when she jumped off some rocks onto the sand and her leg became stuck in quicksand. The water began to pool around her, rising to her waist, as the sun set.
A woman's sunset walk with a friend quickly turned into a emergency rescue after she got her leg stuck in quicksand on a suburban beach in Adelaide.
Madz June, 20, was walking on the beach at Glenelg North on May 19 when she jumped off some rocks and on to the sand.
She said her leg "fell straight through" the soft sand and she became stuck.
"At first, I thought it was hilarious," the TAFE student said.
"It felt like my leg had been vacuum sealed into a bag, it was very tight.
"But it was once I realised how stuck I was, and it wasn't something I could do by myself to get out and I needed help was when panic started to set in … I was very frightened."
She threw her keys and phone to her friend who was on the rocks and tried to stay calm as the water began to pool around her and the sun continued to set.
"It was getting up to my waist," she said.
Ms June spent 10 to 15 minutes trying to get herself out before making the call to emergency services as the tide continued to come in.
"Originally they thought I was talking about my car being stuck in the sand so, I had to inform them I meant me, my actual body," she said.
In the end, four police officers and five firefighters attended the scene to remove her from the sand in "pitch black" conditions.
"I think I was in the sand for around an hour all up," she said.
"It was very much a 'I need to laugh or I'll cry' situation."
She said while it was "very embarrassing" she was happy to share her experience as a warning to others.
"My main concern was if it was an elderly person or a young child that had been in my situation that may not have been able to get themselves out of it or they didn't have a phone to call for help, I think that's the most worrying part," she said.
Ms June said she revisited the site today and said signs warning about quicksand had been displayed by the local council.
Holdfast Bay Council has been contacted for comment.
Open Questions
- What was the exact location on the beach where the quicksand was located?
- Has the Holdfast Bay Council investigated the quicksand issue further since the incident?
- Were there any other reported incidents of quicksand at this location prior to this event?

