One of them told the media this was his toughest rescue in his 29 years of being a search-and-rescue volunteer. A total of 137 rescuers worked hard for 27 hours to save John but had to leave the tragic site with empty hands and heavy hearts. At midnight, November 25, John was pronounced dead. Soon after, a medical professional crawled into the cave and reached John. After finally wriggling himself free, he drilled a new hole for the pulley and crawled out of the cave, exhausted, to be replaced by yet another rescuer who reached John but couldn’t make contact with him. Desperate, he tried to lower himself into the crevice to put the rope around John’s waist but got stuck himself. The rescuer called for John but received no response. When he reached John, he realized that John’s breathing was much more shallow and less frequent, and he was struggling to stay alive. As the rescuer suffered severe facial injuries from the impact with a metal carabineer and couldn’t continue his rescue efforts, he had to switch places with his dad who was also on the rescue team. He couldn’t make out in the dust where exactly John was, but soon he realized – John had slid right down the crevice again, this time seemingly even deeper than before. Once the dust settled a bit, he realized the stone arch near John’s legs where the rope was tied around had shattered, and the nearest key bolt had broken off. When he came to, he saw nothing but dust. The closest rescuer felt something hard hit his face, and he passed out for a second. The entire team fell backward as the rope suddenly went loose in their hands. Confidently, John pressed forward, perhaps noticing the tunnel got wider at the bottom, but it was already too late.ĭisaster strikes When the rescue team pulled John upward for the fourth time, something happened. He continued to inch forward, but the narrow passage did not come to an end instead, the squeeze made a sharp downward turn. John went first: he wriggled forward for some time but did not see any larger area. Soon, John, Josh, and two of their friends decided to take up a challenge they had heard about – namely passing through the Birth Canal, a narrow and challenging passageway that eventually opens up into a larger room. The party had explored the largest room in the cave, aptly named the Big Slide. Everything went smooth for an hour or so. They weren’t alone: 9 more friends and acquaintances had joined them, so by caving standards, it was quite a large group that finally entered the Nutty Putty Cave. on Wednesday, just a few days before Thanksgiving when they arrived at the cave site. The accident Entering the cave On November 24, 2009, the brothers John and Josh decided to rekindle their love for caving and picked Nutty Putty Cave as their next conquest. Nutty Putty Cave is a hydrothermal cave, with a total surveyed length and depth of 1355 and 145 feet, respectively. Different parts of the cave are named accordingly – The Birth Canal, The Aorta Crawl, The Scout Eater, The Maze. The cave Nutty Putty Cave was first explored in 1960 and it quickly became famous for its narrow and slippery passageways, twists, turns and squeezes. In the grand scheme of awful ways to die, this is at the top of the list. I’ve read this story and seen this video in the past, and the horrifying nature of this hits me every single time.
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