Boy Scout trapped 200ft inside PA cave RESCUED

[RememberSchiff]

Scout has been trapped in cave since 5:30pm Saturday. The cave is off the 500 block of Bridge Valley Road in Martic Township.

More details in link.

http://6abc.com/boy-scout-trapped-in-cave-in-lancaster-county/3102346/

Edited February 18, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

Overnight, Tony Williams, public information officer for the Rawlinsville Volunteer Fire Company :

gaining access little by little, but it is a slow process.

teen is conscious and communicating with rescuers

rescuers greatest concern at this time is the possibility of the teen getting hypothermia

Update: Resued after 7 hours.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/category/news/3812709-15-year-old-boy-rescued-from-lancaster-cave/

Edited February 18, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[swilliams]

Our older boys went spelunking in PA last fall.  I stayed behind with the younger boys, who visited Indian Echo caves, but when the others came back with the few pictures they were able to get in the dark, it gave me a little claustrophobia.  I'm glad this boy is okay! 

[RememberSchiff]

Some followup, updated

The 15 year old Boy Scout was alert and not injured. (Wind Cave is also locally called Cold Cave as it is nearly freezing temperatures all year round - RS)

The teen was part of a group scouts and adults from Elizabethtown accompanied by a cave guide. The group of 16 was about 350 feet into the Wind cave south of Pequea when the youth slipped while crawling through a passage and became wedged by a large jutting rock around 3:30 p.m

The cave one of the largest "tectonic (fault) caves in the eastern U.S. Tectonic caves are formed when masses of bedrock are pulled apart along joints or fissures.

This was not the group’s first time in the cave, officials said.

Group members tried to free the youth for two hours, but that caused pain in the boy’s back and hip. (?? Unclear when 9-1-1 call made. RS)

Rescuers, arriving in the dark, chiseled away at the rock and used rope pulleys and a harness to free the boy. Warming pads were used to keep the trapped youth warm in the cold air.

More than 60 personnel were involved in the 7 hour extraction effort. About two dozen fire apparatus and other emergency vehicles were parked along Bridge Valley Road and at the Pequea boat launch.

The effort was complicated by the winter weather and the length rescuers had to travel through mud and snow. Even in good weather, it takes around 20 minutes to travel from Bridge Valley Road to the cave entrance. It took about 45 minutes to transport the boy to the cave entrance after he was extricated.

It took about 45 minutes to transport the boy to the cave entrance after he was extricated.  This was 5th rescue in Wind Cave since 1993.

Spokesman Tony Williams of Rawlinsville Fire Co.

Popular short hike: Wind Cave Trail

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/pennsylvania/wind-cave-trail

Wind/Cold Cave information/directions. Has picture of a local scout troop.

http://www.visitlancasterpa.net/Lancaster-County/Things-To-Do/Trails-And-Vistas/Wind-Cave-Aka-Cold-Cave/

Rescue news report:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/teen-boy-rescued-from-wind-caves-in-martic-township/article_a9867b78-143d-11e8-84d7-bf48f68d95eb.html

Cave map and more background.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/cave-rescue-in-southern-lancaster-county-was-th-since/article_7c370470-14ed-11e8-8ccb-7f7505dd40c0.html

http://fox43.com/2018/02/18/how-emergency-crews-rescued-a-14-year-old-boy-from-a-cave-in-lancaster-county/

Edited February 20, 2018 by RememberSchiff
Update with more details.