Man rescued from cave after being trapped for almost 54 hours

His injuries are said to be non-life threatening.
Rescuers at the entrance of the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system (Ben Birchall/PA)
PA Wire
Bronwen Weatherby8 November 2021

An injured man has been rescued from a cave after spending more than two days trapped inside.

The man was brought out of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in the Brecon Beacons at around 7.45pm on Monday following a 54-hour ordeal.

After being lifted to the surface he was clapped and cheered by rescuers before being helped into a cave rescue Land Rover to be transported down to a waiting ambulance.

(PA Graphics)
PA Graphics

Around 70 volunteers made their way down off the mountain to the rescue centre before watching as the man, in his 40s, was driven away to Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

Described as an experienced caver, the man had been trapped since Saturday at around 1pm after a fall.

His injuries are said to be non-life threatening, but are believed to include a broken jaw, leg and spinal injuries.

More than 240 people have been involved in the the operation, and at least eight cave rescue teams from around the UK.

Teams of rescuers had been working in shifts to bring him to safety but had been unable to airlift him to hospital by helicopter because of the weather.

Rescuers walk towards the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system (Ben Birchall/PA)
PA Wire

Peter Francis, a South & Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team spokesman, said earlier: “This is the longest rescue we’ve ever done but we’re very pleased with the progress being made.

“The caver was very unlucky here. He’s an experienced caver, a fit caver. And it was a matter of putting his foot in the wrong place.

“He wasn’t in a dangerous part of the cave, it’s just something moved from under him.”

Paul Taylor, spokesman for SMWCRT, said the man had gone into the Cwmdoor entrance of the caves before he fell.

The caves near to Penwyllt are 300 metres deep, making them the deepest in the UK.

Discovered in 1947, they are also the third longest cave system in the UK, stretching more than 30 miles.

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