What should I do if I encounter quicksand?

The trapped person should move his feet gently, and let water and sand penetrate into the squeezed vacuum area as much as possible, so as to relieve the pressure on the trapped person's body and make the sand loosen slowly.

Trapped people should also try to keep their limbs apart, because only the greater the surface area of their bodies in contact with sand can they gain greater buoyancy. As long as the trapped person is patient enough and moves slowly enough, he can slowly get out of trouble.

Formation process

Denise Dumouchelle, a geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS), said that quicksand can appear anywhere as long as the conditions are right.

The rising groundwater reduces the friction between grains of sand, and makes the sand start to "flow", thus forming quicksand.

When a loose sand belt is saturated with water, ordinary sand will roll and form quicksand. If the water trapped in the sand cannot be separated from it, it will form liquefied soil, which can no longer bear the weight. There are two ways to increase the rolling degree of sand and finally form quicksand.

Flowing groundwater-upward flowing water overcomes gravity and makes sand float more easily.