Trapped hiker saved from quicksand at West Virginia Lake

Firefighters and rescue teams conducted an unusual operation when a hiker ended up stuck in waist-deep mud that was described as “essentially quicksand.”

The Summersville Fire Department was summoned to Summersville Lake and ended up calling for help from Wilderness Volunteer Fire Departments and the Fayette County Vertical Rescue Team when they discovered the terrain in the drained lake was too unstable to walk on.

“It is essentially quicksand,” Wilderness Volunteer Fire Departments Lt. Uriah Ludle told WCHS-TV. “You step on it, and you start moving, it just sucks you in. You’re just stuck.”

The rescue teams used the nearby Hughes Bridge to hoist the hiker to safety.

The man was checked out at a local hospital and found to be uninjured.