Lifeguards dig trapped man in sand at West Beach in South Australia

This feeling of shipwreck! Lifeguards extract man from sand after he gets stuck while walking on the beach during his lunch break

• Eduardo de la Fuente, 47, got trapped in a sinkhole in West Beach, South Australia
• The ambulance team carried out a rescue after surfers failed to free him
• Embarrassed man chose not to tell his 19-week-pregnant wife
  
• The college professor recovered with a glass of whiskey at home

By Leesa Smith

Posted: 11:50 p.m. EDT, May 26, 2014 | Update: 6:03 AM EDT, May 27, 2014

A lunchtime walk took an unexpected and fun turn when a man got stuck in a sinkhole for 40 minutes, prompting an unlikely rescue operation.

Eduardo de la Fuente, 47, was walking along West Beach in Adelaide when his ankle sank into the swampy sand a few feet from the local rescue club.

As the tide ebbed, three surfers were forced to call for help when they failed to free him with their boards.

He described the situation as “funny” but “frightening”.

“It was scary because I couldn’t move and the water would overwhelm me sometimes,” he told advertising.com.au.

“Fortunately, the tide was going out. If he had been closer to the dark, it could have been quite dangerous.

Surfers quickly realized that this was a professional job and rushed to the Surf Rescue Club, where staff contacted emergency services.

“Fortunately, they didn’t make any jokes at my expense,” he said.

‘I feel a little stupid.’

Mr de la Fuente is rescued by paramedics after being stuck in a chasm for 40 minutes

Mr de la Fuente said he chose not to inform his 19-week-pregnant wife of the unusual incident.

“I just said ‘come and get me, but there may be special ops and police here,” “he said.

He urged the local council to put up warning signs “urgently” to prevent anyone from suffering the same fate.

“You see stories of quick sand at the movies, but you don’t expect it on your local beach when you take a walk,” he said.

Mr. de la Fuente calmed the nerves with a glass of well-earned single malt whiskey on his way home.

The location in West Beach in South Australia where Mr. de la Fuente was trapped in a sinkhole for 40 minutes before being rescued