Advertisement

Injured caver rescued from Tennen mountain

The Local
The Local - [email protected] • 16 Aug, 2014 Updated Sat 16 Aug 2014 16:15 CEST
image alt text

In the early hours of Saturday morning, mountain and cave rescue teams announced that they had successfully rescued injured Polish explorer Marek G., who was seriously injured as the result of a fall while exploring a deep cave.

Advertisement

Two days after his seven-meter fall in the Jack Daniel's cave in Salzburg's Tennengebirge mountain range, Marek G. was recovered by a team of up to 70 rescuers working through the night.  This was announced by the head of the mountain rescue team, Wilfried Seidl, around 3 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Pole was then immediately transported by helicopter to a hospital. 

"The patient was recovered from the cave and is ready for evacuation by helicopter," said Seidl.  He was "stable and well looked after." 
 
A team of paramedics and a specialist cave rescue doctor were with the victim. 
 

Photo: APA (Neumayr/MMV)
 
The Pole went with five compatriots into the near-vertical cave for research purposes. In the fall he suffered leg and chest injuries and a concussion. The accident occurred on Thursday morning at about 2.00 p.m.  
 
According to the spokesperson of the Salzburg mountain rescue team, Marie Riedler, the explorer was recovered on Saturday at around 2:18 a.m. from the Jack Daniel's cave. The rescue had been delayed near the end because the rescue team had to make complex technical alterations to a pulley, Riedler told the Austrian Press Agency. 
 
The rescue authorities had requested a suitable army helicopter for night flight, with the pilot and co-pilot using night vision goggles.
 
In the cave entrance a 35-square-metre heated and backlit medical tent had been set up with medical equipment for emergency response, if a helicopter flight would not have been possible due to adverse weather conditions. 
 
On Friday afternoon, the injured man had been still at approximately a depth of 160 meters. 
 
The injured man is now resting comfortably in hospital, and receiving all necessary treatment.
 

Photo: APA (Neumayr/MMV)

More

Comments

The Local 2014/08/16 16:15

Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also