N9V TV
A man has been rescued after falling into a cave in Wales.
The man sustained multiple injuries while caving in the Brecon Beacons on Saturday, November 7 and was there till Monday.
On Monday he was lifted to the surface on a stretcher, as rescuers and onlookers clapped and cheered before he was taken to a waiting ambulance.
South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team (SMWCRT) said he fell in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system near Penwyllt, Powys.
Gary Evans, emergency services liaison officer and one of the incident controllers, said:
“The casualty’s doing remarkably well when you consider how long he’s been in the cave, how long he’s been in the stretcher, he’s doing very well indeed.
“He’s being assessed at the moment and we’ll know more in a short while.”
About 250 people were involved in the rescue effort.
One of the rescuers, Peter Francis said the man was “an experienced, fit caver” and “it was a matter of putting his foot in the wrong place”.
He added: “It’s just something moved from under him.”
Rescuers say the wet and foggy conditions in the Brecon Beacons meant an air ambulance helicopter was unable to land, so the man had to be moved on a stretcher by specialist crews working in shifts.
This was the longest cave rescue undertaken in Wales. Before now, the longest had been a 41 hour rescue, and this operation took more than 53 hours.
The complex Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system is about 902ft (275m) at its deepest point.
It is the second largest in Wales and one of the deepest in the UK.
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