Michigan (USA) - It was supposed to be a romantic walk on the beach, but instead Mitchell O'Brien and Breanne Sika's first date together ended with a rescue operation by the fire department.

Last Saturday, the two spent their first few hours together on the beach in Leland, Michigan. But the anticipation and nervousness about the date quickly turned to panic.

When Mitchell approached an apparently unstable stretch of beach to collect stones, his date partner sensed the impending disaster and tried to warn him in time.

But it was too late: the 38-year-old stepped onto the unstable ground and sank into the sand up to his waist. Breanne told People that she assumed that Mitchell sank into the unstable section of beach due to previous dredging work.

Faced with the precarious situation, panic slowly but surely took over for the 36-year-old: "It was scary because I couldn't get to him and see that he was in danger. But I knew that if I went to him, it would put us both in danger."

To reassure his date, Mitchell reassured him that she needn't worry because he felt he was stuck by now and wouldn't sink any lower.

He tried to free himself for a good fifteen minutes, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Breanne had already tried to call the emergency services several times, but due to poor cell phone reception, she was unable to reach anyone.

When both Breanne and Mitchell finally got emergency services on the phone and described the situation, they referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend for the first time, making their relationship official.

Firefighters finally got Mitchell out of his predicament with the help of a rope and a life jacket. From then on, Breanne was also relieved. "At that point, I just started laughing because I knew we were safe," says the US-American .

On the way to the hospital, the desired romance finally emerged. While Mitchell was still in the ambulance, they made their relationship official.