A swamp is part of a landscape with stagnant water. A lot of hygrophilous plants grow here, and the ecosystem performs one of the most important functions - the conservation of heat on Earth. The most dangerous place is a quagmire, which slowly sucks in and kills people. According to statistics, there are much more drowned in the swamp than in any other water bodies. You can drown in a swamp if you do not know the basic rules of how to behave in such situations.
Historical facts
The fact that the swamp is dangerous has been known since ancient times. Swamps have always been covered in myths and terrible legends. Germanic tribes believed that the lights in the quagmire were lost souls who could not find refuge in that world. In Russian fairy tales, terrible water and sorceresses lived in swamps.
In 2015, near the Novosibirsk tank drowned in a swamp. This incident occurred during an exercise. The armored car stuck in the mud. Maximum efforts were made to stretch it, but it could not be done. As a result, the heavy equipment was simply abandoned.
This is not the only case when huge cars get stuck in a quagmire. It is a well-known fact when, during World War II, a tank platoon drowned in a swamp near Uman. In 2010, a T-34 tank was lifted from the water in Cherkasy, which during the war also got stuck in a quagmire.
It took him a whole week and a hundred rescue cables that constantly broke to save him. It turned out that the tank was thrown to the front and almost immediately fell under the bombing. When the car loaded, the crew abandoned it. People tried to stretch the car before, so that they could hand it over for scrap. But to raise multi-ton equipment from the bottom of the swamp is not an easy task. Most often, it remains the "prey" of the swamp forever.
Rescued girl
In August 2017, an incident occurred in a city park in Kirov. The girl came home late and got lost in the dark. She fell into a swamp and loaded into a quagmire. She spent an entire hour in the water until she was rescued. Miraculously, a man heard her and called rescuers. He thought that the girl drowned in a swamp, but, fortunately, was mistaken. She managed to get out of the quagmire alive.
Rescuers found the victim when she was already bogged down to her chest. According to the stories of Irina (that was the name of the girl), she herself could not get out. Dirt slowly swallowed her. The only thing she could do was scream loudly. The girl tried not to move. That is what saved her. It is known that the more movements the victim makes, the faster the swamp sucks it.
Very dangerous grass veiled swamp. You can drown by stepping on it, like a normal meadow. Grass growing on the surface hides what is inside. Often a site that appears to be solid earth is actually a dangerous trap.
Basic rules of behavior in the swamp
If you need to overcome wetlands, never do it alone. Take a friend or hire a guide. Going on a hike, carefully examine the area. Look for information on forums, ask local people about danger zones. Prepare your clothes. You need high boots, a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, hat, mosquito net, because there are a lot of midges in such places.
Do not fasten your backpack too carefully so that in case of danger you can easily get rid of it. Put clothes and things that may get wet in plastic bags. There are cases when a person drowned in a swamp due to the fact that he could not quickly get rid of the load on his back. The heavy weight turned him on his back and quickly pulled him under the water.
Always carry a stick with you. With it, you can check the hardness of the soil and the depth of the pond. If a stick the length of a human growth completely goes under water, you should not try to cross the terrain in this part.
Rules of movement
Drowning in a swamp is very simple, if you do not know the basic rules of movement. Remember, never trust your gaze! If you see that the surface of the grass, or it seems to you that the crest of the shore of the reservoir is solid soil, then all these assumptions can be deceiving. Land near a lake, bay or canal usually holds water, which means that under the surface layer there may be a reservoir that is dangerous to life.
Remember these rules:
- Try to step on growing branches, bunches of grass or protruding roots. They will be submerged, but will help you stay until the next step.
- Taking the next step, check with a stick the place where you are going to put your foot. If the stick is easy to dive, select a different area.
- Look around for cattail or reed nearby. They help a person to move around and not drown in a swamp.
- In the place where there is a stream, there should be a solid sandy or gravel bottom. If you see that there is a stream of water in the middle of the pond, try to get to it safely. In the center, look around and remember the path along the soft bottom that you have overcome. The second half of the soft bottom in width is usually exactly the same as the first. That is, having successfully overcome the first part, you will be able to repeat the steps to cross the reservoir.
- If trees grow in a swamp, try to move as close to them as possible. The root system holds solid soil.
If you need to cross a swamp, you can pave the gate. These are branches of trees and shrubs that need to be put on a shaky place in sufficient quantities.
Walking technology
Is it possible to drown in a swamp, moving in the usual step? Very easy. When we move, we transfer the entire body weight first to one leg, then to the other. When we step on a hard surface, the earth holds us back. But in a swamp you can’t act like that. When you step on one leg with all your weight, it sinks harder. At that moment when you take the second step, you intend to transfer body weight, but the first leg is already bogged down, and you, having taken the second step, have drowned yourself even more, since there is no solid soil under your legs. If you have the opportunity at this moment to leave your boots in a quagmire and crawl out to land, then do it immediately.
The right steps should be sliding. The second step must be taken already at the moment when the first leg has not yet lowered to a lower position.
If you started to sink
Calm down first. Drowning in a swamp is much easier if you spin and climb. Do not lift your leg, your weight at the second point will pull to the bottom even faster. Try to reach the branches and scoop them in front of you crosswise to lie on your stomach on a flat surface. Try to make snake-like movements to crawl out of the quagmire. Move to the side where you came from.
