A MAN trapped in a cave system in the Brecon Beacons after being badly injured in an underground fall has successfully been rescued after more than two days underground.
The caver – in his forties – fell in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu system in Powys on Saturday. He was brought out this evening – 54 hours later – in what was the longest stretcher-carry in British cave rescue history.
Ten teams from across the UK descended on the site to help after the South and Mid Wales Cave rescue Team (SMWCRT) were alerted to the incident by the casualty’s colleague on Saturday afternoon. It is understood some team members were able to get to the man on Sunday morning and treat his injuries before assessing the most effective rescue plan.
The injured man was slowly edged towards a cave entrance by about 70 underground volunteers before being stretchered to a waiting ambulance this evening. Weather conditions in the area meant a helicopter evacuation had to be called off.
More than 300 people were involved in the delicate rescue operation.
Speaking to the BBC moments before the stricken caver was carried to the ambulance, emergency services liaison officer Gary Evans, explained the man was “doing remarkably well”.
“He has been talking to medics along the way and they have been having a conversation,” he said.
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu – also known as the Cave of the Black Spring – is Britain’s third-largest cave system, and the deepest throughout the whole of the United Kingdom.
