A cosy evening by the sea turned into a Christmas nightmare for one wheelchair user who became stuck in the sand.
A German beachgoer was getting close to the sea in Boltenhagen by the Baltic Sea when they began sinking.
The woman’s 200kg wheelchair sank into the soft sand and became trapped on the coast in freezing conditions.
She tried to get her wheelchair free with the help of a companion for more than an hour, but couldn’t get anywhere.
They eventually alerted the fire brigade at 5pm local time on Christmas Eve.
Community fire chief Sebastian Hacker (45) told Bild: ‘The women had left the rubber mats between the dunes with the wheelchair. But in the sand, the heavy wheelchair could no longer move forward.
‘Near the water it was very uncomfortable, with temperatures around freezing. First, we used a carrying sling to bring the woman off the beach.’
The wheelchair user was taken to a nearby wooden beach hut, where she was wrapped in blankets to get warm again.
Four rescuers then heaved and pulled the heavy electric wheelchair out of the dunes.
It took 45 minutes to get it free and off the beach.
Mr Hacker said: ‘We’ve never had a call-out like this before. But we were glad that the woman was unharmed.’
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