British tourist got stuck in hole he dug on beach then had very British reaction

Every child has imagined digging through the sand and popping out on the other side of the planet.

Well Jensen Sturgeon,22,got close to finding out what that’s like – and why our parents stopped us delving too deep.

The British tourist had been visiting Copacabana Beach in Brazil when he decided to start digging a hole (not to the other side of the world).

He wanted to go as deep as he could before striking water,before things went horribly wrong.

Jensen ended up creating a quicksand-like trap that caused his legs to sink and become stuck.

More than 30 people,including beachgoers,vendors,and lifeguards,had to jump to the rescue.

Jensen seemed un-phased by his ordeal (Picture: Newsflash)

Some were digging around him,while others handed over bits of wood and rope in an attempt to pull Jensen out,but nothing seemed to work.

The three-hour rescue was made tolerable by a beer handed to Jensen as he sat at the bottom of the hole.

He was eventually pulled out by rescuers to the relief,and applause,of onlookers.

‘I’m the guy who got stuck in that hole,’ Jensen said.

‘I was digging an eight-foot hole and,eh,basically what was going through my head [was],I thought I was going to die.

‘But luckily,I had good people to save me. Obrigado to the people of Rio that helped me out.’

Quick sand beaches have struck down tourists across the world,with the world’s deadliest path potentially in the UK.

He was eventually pulled out by rescuers (Picture: Newsflash)

The Broomway Trail,nicknamed Doomway,lies on the River Thames and is half land,half sea.

Crossing both sand flats and mud flats,it has claimed more than one hundred lives over the centuries,although not all due to its sinking sands. Rushing tides and strong currents are far more perilous.

Another notorious spot is Cumbria’s windswept Morecambe Bay,which was the sight of a quick sand tragedy.

In February 2004,23 illegally smuggled Chinese immigrants drowned while picking cockles on the beach after they were cut off by an incoming tide.

A 13-year-old boy was previously rescued from a Welsh beach after he was nearly ‘buried alive’ by sand.

Lifeguards used children’s spades to help release him after he became trapped in a huge hole he was digging at Dolwen Beach in Aberport.

Witnesses heard him screaming for help as he fell down further into the sand.

How to escape quicksand

Quicksand is created when water seeps into sand above it,so it has a water content that is anywhere from 30 to 70 percent.When someone steps on quicksand,the sand liquifies. Water,which is less dense,rises. Sand,which is more dense,sinks.As the water rises it leaves a vaccum in the dense sand which compacts around your leg and makes it almost impossible to move.But how do you escape? The answer is simple thank you may think.You will only sink about halfway. Wiggle your legs to create space so water can flow back into the sand and make it less viscous – i.e. sticky and thick – around you.So long as you keep doing this you should be able to get yourself free,though it will take time.That’s why rescuers will use an injection pump,which rapidly liquifies the quicksand,so the person can be freed quickly. If you’re stuck on the beach and the tide is coming in,for instance,you’re going to want to get free pronto.