Rescuers Pull Woman From Texas Cave (with video)

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Rescuers Pull Woman From Texas Cave (with video)

Postby Wayne Harrison » Jul 3, 2006 12:45 pm

The weather didn't help much when it came to an overnight cave rescue in South Austin. KXAN's cameras were rolling as rescuers pulled the woman from the cave.

At around 10 p.m. Sunday, a woman and her friends were down the Barton Creek Greenbelt about a half-mile exploring the caves. They went inside what's called Airman's Cave at around 4 p.m.

Officials say the group went back in about 1,000 feet, through tight twists and turns inside the cave.

However, one of the women was having a hard time getting out. So the group exited the cave and called 911 for help.

A special operations team with the Austin Fire Department arrived.

In all, about 50 firefighters and EMS personnel were on the scene to go inside the cave and rescue the woman.

<a href="http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5107833&nav=0s3d">Full Story with Video Link</a>
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Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 3, 2006 2:27 pm

Dang, they won't let me view the video with my mac. It appears to be a WMV file, which usually play fine. Would anyone be able to pass on the direct link to the video, or download it?

A bunch of the instructors at NCRC, were from the Austin area. I want to see if any of them made the news.
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Postby NZcaver » Jul 3, 2006 4:34 pm

Scott McCrea wrote:Dang, they won't let me view the video with my mac. It appears to be a WMV file, which usually play fine. Would anyone be able to pass on the direct link to the video, or download it?

A bunch of the instructors at NCRC, were from the Austin area. I want to see if any of them made the news.

I don't think it's the Curse of the Mac this time. :hairpull: When I load the "video", all I get is a still of the news anchors accompanied by the sound clip from the report.

Interesting that Airman's Cave was mentioned previously on the DB, after a spelunker blogged his own lucky-to-escape-unharmed visit....

http://www.caves.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1604
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Postby Wayne Harrison » Jul 3, 2006 5:53 pm

The video worked fine for me. I'm using a PC with Internet Explorer. I tried right-clicking on the video pop-up to get the source code, but they've disabled right-clicks.

The written story is pretty much verbatim what the video report said.
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Postby Tim White » Jul 5, 2006 9:04 am

Scott McCrea wrote:Dang, they won't let me view the video with my mac. It appears to be a WMV file, which usually play fine. Would anyone be able to pass on the direct link to the video, or download it?

A bunch of the instructors at NCRC, were from the Austin area. I want to see if any of them made the news.


Scott- I was able to view the video on my MAC today. (I use Firefox browser.) The footage shows rescuers, but I could not make out any faces.

I sent DJ Walker an e-mail asking if he or anyone we knew was involved in the rescue. Have not got a reply as of yet. I’ll post any info here that I get on the event from Austin Fire & Rescue.
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More regarding Airman's Cave

Postby Tim White » Jul 5, 2006 9:39 am

http://www.kvue.com/news/mmcguire/stories/070306kvuecavewarning-cb.212a4597.html

Warning issued about exploring Austin caves

04:53 PM CDT on Monday, July 3, 2006

By MELISSA MCGUIRE / KVUE News

Cave experts Monday issued a warning for local explorers, after a young woman was rescued from a cave on the Barton Creek Greenbelt in South Austin.

About 50 firefighters and EMS personnel responded Sunday night to Airman's Cave near South Lamar and Loop 360.

A woman had been trapped 1,000 feet inside Airman's Cave since about 4 p.m. Her friends called for help when they say she wouldn't -- or couldn't -- come out.

"They decided they couldn't get her out and made a call to the fire department. Fire and EMS responded," said Palmer Buck, Austin Fire Department.

It took emergency crews about two hours to reach her, and she walked out on her own. It's not known why she couldn't come out of the cave.

Officials say it's a tight space. Sometimes it can be difficult or scary for people to find their way out.

Lt. Andy Reardon with the Austin Fire Department says Travis County is home to more than 300 caves.

"There's a whole bunch that aren't big enough for people to crawl around in. That's when people get in trouble," Reardon said.

And many caves have low oxygen levels.

Experts want thrill seekers to know that just because a cave is open and not gated, like Airman's Cave, doesn't mean it's safe for you to explore.

Those prohibited to the public are typically home to endangered species or in busy park areas.

Officials say Sunday night's rescue had a happy ending, but beware -- a lack of knowledge could turn your trip into a nightmare.

"You could get in there and it could be full of water. It could have an oxygen level that you can't survive in there," Reardon said.

The best thing you can do is research the cave you're interested in exploring before jumping right in.
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Postby Tim White » Jul 5, 2006 12:18 pm

A caver / NCRC Instructor that is on the Austin Fire Special Operations team and one other firefighter that had been in the cave before went in and assisted her out. They were the only ones that could fit through the entrance. :-)

I'm told that the very small entrance leads to passage that is a 10,800 feet belly crawl. :shocked:
I guess the news report that states "she was able to walk out on her own" was referring to once she was out of the entrance. :big grin:
Be safe,
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Postby Wayne Harrison » Jul 5, 2006 12:30 pm

I've been in it a couple of times when I lived in Texas. There are a couple of places where you can stand, but most of it is 3-4 feet high passageway between two bedding planes, as I recall. The entrance is sort of a tube that has a large rock "bump" on it and that is the tight part. To think I used to crawl in there for hours without kneepads in my younger days. :shock:

There's another discussion on Airman's on here (I think under trip reports) and it has a link to a lot of photos of the cave.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Jul 5, 2006 3:28 pm

More info: here.

This link claims that the female that was rescued entered the cave with her boyfriend. They smoked pot in the cave. She wigged out and was afraid to leave.

I don't know if it's true or not, just passing on the info.
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