The men’s way back outside was blocked on Thursday after meltwater had penetrated the corridor system. On Friday evening, the news came that they had meanwhile overcome the difficult passage and were expected outside shortly. According to the SN Online report, the trio have now been able to leave the cave and are being cared for by rescue workers. They are doing well, but they are severely hypothermic, it said.
The men’s way back to the outside was blocked after meltwater penetrated the tunnel system. There was initially no contact with the trio, but late Friday afternoon a cave diver managed to get to the men. You are unharmed but slightly hypothermic and have been treated with hot tea. More about this in the video:
At the same time, the rescue of the men was within reach. “The level at the underwater point should drop so far that they can swim out as soon as they have warmed up,” said Monika Feichtner, head of the Salzburg Cave Rescue Service on Friday evening – and was right. At first it was feared that days could pass before the water level had dropped so far that the three Poles could leave the cave again. As the operations manager of the Salzburg Cave Rescue, Gernot Salzmann, explained in the late afternoon, the water level would drop slowly but steadily.
The very warm temperatures on Thursday meant that a lot of meltwater penetrated into the cave and made it impossible to return safely from the so-called “researcher’s part” to the show cave. “The water collected in a depression, you can imagine it like a siphon,” explained Salzmann. Now it is necessary to wait until no more meltwater penetrates the cave system and the water in the passages has drained away until it is walkable again.
Familiar with extreme situations
According to the head of operations, the men were full professionals, and at least one of them knew the cave very well. The three participants of the announced expedition are familiar with extreme situations. “They are well equipped, there are also rescue niches with blankets and emergency equipment in the cave,” said Feichtner.
Several cave rescue divers arrived on the spot early Friday afternoon. “The aim is to establish a communication link with the men, to see if they are doing well and to provide them with additional material and provisions,” said Salzmann before the specialists’ dive. According to him, the first siphon to be immersed was about 20 meters long and filled with water between one and a half and three meters deep. It was also clear that the three cavers would not emerge themselves. “You have to be an absolute specialist for that,” explained cave rescuer Wolfgang Gadermayr on Friday.
Colleague sounded the alarm
The three Poles climbed into the cave around 8 a.m. on Thursday to explore the tectonic structure of the region, which should be documented in more detail in the cave. They should have come out again around 7 p.m., but a fellow researcher and cave rescuer, who wanted to bring them something to eat, came across the underwater siphon in the research part of the cave and was unable to go any further. It was he who finally sounded the alarm.
The three men were discovered just a few hundred meters from the part of the show cave that is open to tourists in the so-called “Lamprechtsdom”. The Lamprechts Cave – also known as the Lamprechtsofen – is the longest passage cave in the world and, with a total extension of 62 kilometers, is one of the largest cave systems in Europe. As cave rescuer Feichtner said, there was no way for the three men to get out at the other end of the cave. “That would not only take several days, but is technically very difficult.”
Not the first incident
Because of the cave entrance, which is also low, similar incidents have repeatedly occurred in the past. Most affected was the short tourist section at the cave entrance – the show cave, which is open in the summer months. In August 2016, after heavy rain, seven people – including two children – were trapped in the cave after the water suddenly rose sharply in the entrance area. There was no immediate danger, but the visitors had to hold out in the cave until the water went down.
In August 2013, 26 people were stuck underground for several hours. At that time too, heavy rain had flooded the low-lying entrance. The group – families or individuals who were randomly thrown together, mainly from Germany – could not get out in time and had to wait inside the cave until the water receded. Also in June 2002, the creek running in the cave began to rise rapidly, several visitors were trapped by the water. A 62-year-old fell trying to reach the exit despite the flooding of the path. She sustained a fracture. In the evening, all visitors could safely leave the cave.
The Lamprechts Cave – it is located in the municipality of St. Martin near Lofer – is therefore equipped with an early warning system that sounds the alarm if the water level in the cave becomes dangerously high. Visitors then usually have enough time to go to the cave exit.
Source: Nachrichten
