Forest rangers rescued a man in New York after he was stuck in a crevice in a cave for six hours.
The as-yet unidentified man from Brooklyn was hiking with friends at Merlins Cave in the town of Canaan, which is around 30 miles from Albany.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said in a social media video that they received a call about the incident between 6.30 p.m and 7p.m. Rescue crews were suited up just after 9 p.m.
Forest Ranger Lieutenant John Gullen said in the video that the man was “really jammed in there” during the incident on on May 17.
“It was like his full body was stuck in a crevice that was basically designed the exact shape of him,” he continued.
Gullen revealed that it took 20 minutes to crawl to where the man was stuck, even though he was only “400 feet away.”
Three of the man’s friends were still with him when rescuers arrived and they had tried to retrieve the man themselves. However, they had been in the cave for “many hours” and had all become hypothermic.
According to the department, the temperature in the cave was around 50 degrees, and the humidity had reached 100 percent.
Members of the Albany-Schoharie Cave Rescue Team left to retrieve a hammer drill, but Gullen says he remained in the cave. Gullen and the man were in the cave alone for an hour and a half.
“For most people, that’s like their worst nightmare,” he revealed. “So he did such a great job keeping a positive attitude.”
According to Gullen, the man gave him a “thumbs up”, and they were “telling jokes.”
When the team returned with the rock drill, Gullen began drilling inches away from the man’s head and back. After twenty minutes of drilling, a piece of rock was cleared, and the uninjured man was able to “wriggle” free.
Eventually, Gullen and the man shared a high five. Greg Moore, a co-captain of the Albany-Schoharie Cave Rescue Team, confirmed to The New York Times that all the spelunkers were experienced cavers and had permission to be at the site.
Around a dozen firefighters, eight rescuers, two medical doctors and six spelunkers were on the scene when Moore arrived. Rescuers had brought miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for the trapped man, he said.
Emily Davis, the team’s other co-captain, revealed that they had used some ropes and webbing to try to rescue the man before drilling began.
