‘Very lucky’ worker stranded waist-deep in mud flats rescued, Alaska firefighters say

A man who became mired in mud flats near Girdwood sank up to his waist before firefighters rescued him, Alaska officials reported.

The rescue shut down the Seward Highway at Turnagain Arm on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 17, Girdwood Fire and Rescue said on Facebook.

A surveyor called his boss to report he was stuck in the mud flats, firefighters told KTUU. The employer then notified 911.

“The individual was stuck in mud up to his waist with about 3 inches of water above that waistband,” Fire Chief Michelle Weston told Alaska Public Media.

Firefighters used backboards to reach the man and sprayed water to loosen the mud.

“He was very well sort of augured in there,” Weston told the Anchorage Daily News. It took firefighters about 40 minutes to free the man, who was unhurt.

“In a different situation, it could have gone really badly,” Weston told the news outlet, noting the man was alone and not all areas along the highway have cell coverage.

“We were very lucky with where the tides were in this scenario, because we had a good amount of time to operate out there before he would have been covered up completely by the incoming tides,” firefighter Stuart Parry told KTUU.

Firefighters conduct two to three rescues from the mud flats each year, officials said.

Girdwood is a community of 2,500 people about 40 miles southeast of Anchorage.

This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 7:47 AM with the headline "‘Very lucky’ worker stranded waist-deep in mud flats rescued, Alaska firefighters say."