Boy, 15, fighting for life after cave rescue drama

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Boy, 15, fighting for life after cave rescue drama

Postby Lynn » Nov 15, 2005 8:19 am

Boy, 15, fighting for life after cave rescue drama
Brian Dooks

AN OUTING designed to give children a taste of basic caving in a low-risk environment ended with a 15-year-old boy fighting for his life last night.
Forty members of the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association recovered the schoolboy from Manchester Hole in Upper Nidderdale after a short search.
After paramedics worked on him at the scene, he was taken 20 miles to Harrogate District Hospital and placed on a life support system in the intensive care unit. His parents were taken to his bedside.
The boy was one of a party of around 12 from Tadcaster Grammar School being led by instructors from the Bewerley Park Centre for Outdoor Education, owned and run by North Yorkshire County Council.
The party was among a group of about 100 students from the school who were on the first day of a week-long residential visit to Bewerley Park at Pateley Bridge, where they were due to undertake rock climbing, canoeing and fell-walking.
North Yorkshire County Council spokesman Tony Webster said the boy went missing from the party which had gone underground at Manchester Hole and the alarm was raised when he could not be found.
Manchester Hole adjoins Goyden Pot in the stream bed of the River Nidd one-and-a-half miles north of Lofthouse, near Pateley Bridge. Last night the Nidd was at a high level.
Although Goyden Pot is a complex and potentially dangerous labyrinth into which the River Nidd flows when its level is high, Manchester Hole is not regarded as dangerous.
In high water conditions care is needed, but a trip through Manchester Hole, considered a classic river cave, can normally be accomplished by experienced cavers in about 30 minutes.
Over the past 40 years Bewerley Park instructors have given hundreds of young people their first experience of caving and it is also popular with Scouts and Cubs.
The Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association was called out just after 4pm yesterday. It was told the boy was trapped 250 metres into the cave.
The first members of the rescue team who went underground reported back to the UWFRA's incident controller Harry Long that they had found the boy in an area that had been subjected to flooding.
Mr Long said Manchester Hole was not a problem cave. "Nothing like this has happened before. It is regarded as ideal for beginners."
Late last night North Yorkshire's director of education, Cynthia Welbourn, was at Bewerley Park receiving a detailed briefing on the incident.
Both primary and secondary school children visit the centre and take part in rock climbing, hill walking, camping, sailing, orienteering, canoeing and kayaking, gorge walking, mountain biking and skiing.
Nationally, concerns about the safety of school trips and a number of high-profile court cases have led to a decline in the numbers of schools willing to take pupils on such courses.
Teachers have expressed increasing reluctance to take trips out of school and a report by school inspectors Ofsted found many children were missing out on outdoor activities.
Earlier this month, Ministers unveiled a new "manifesto" for education outside the classroom in an attempt to reverse the trend.
15 November 2005

http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArt ... ID=1253997
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Odd...this reports it as a death.

Postby Tim White » Nov 15, 2005 11:22 am

Odd...this reports it as a death. :huh:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/arti ... ?version=1

This is LONDON
15/11/05 - News section

Boy, 14, dies on school caving trip


A 14-year-old boy died while caving on a school trip, a county council said.

The boy was part of a group from Tadcaster Grammar School who were learning the basic principles of caving in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, on the first day of a school trip.

He was named by police as Joseph Lister, of Steeton, near Tadcaster.

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said the boy's "lifeless" body was recovered from an area known as Manchester Hole following a search by rescue teams. He was later pronounced dead at Harrogate District Hospital.

The council spokesman said: "There was a substantial party from Tadcaster Grammar School. It was the first day of the trip.

"They were divided up into groups and one group of 11 went in to what is
known as Manchester Hole, or Manchester Caves, which is, I'm told, a fairly easy and comfortable introduction to caving. It's the standard introduction to caving that youngsters get.

"There was an incident in the cave and the search and rescue team were
called out. Late last night (Monday) they recovered a body - they brought
the boy out in a lifeless condition. He was transferred to Harrogate
Hospital, where he was pronounced dead."

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Police are investigating the death of a 14-year-old boy in an incident in Nidderdale...

"Police were informed that a 14-year-old boy on a school trip based at
Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre, near Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale, was believed to be trapped in the nearby Manchester Hole cave by rising water levels. The Wharfedale Fell Rescue Team were called out and two teams were deployed to the scene.

"A post mortem is expected to be carried out. The Health and Safety
Executive have been informed and inquiries into the circumstances of the
death are continuing."
Be safe,
Tim White 26949 RL FE

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'Larger-than-life' boy dies on school potholing trip

Postby Wayne Harrison » Nov 15, 2005 7:26 pm

Image
Joseph Lister

'Larger-than-life' boy dies on school potholing trip

The headteacher of a school which lost a 14-year-old pupil on a fatal potholing expedition said today: "The school is missing a beat of its heart."

Joseph Lister, known as Joe, was part of a group from Tadcaster Grammar School learning the basics of caving at the Bewerley Park Centre for Outdoor Education in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, yesterday.



He was with a party of ten schoolmates who were exploring Manchester Hole, a relatively easy cave but known for sudden flooding, when the water level rose dramatically. Joseph, from Steeton near Tadcaster, apparently became trapped in the rising water around 250 metres below ground.

Teachers raised the alarm at 4.10pm. Ninety minutes later his body was retrieved from the cave network by the Upper Wharfedale fell rescue team. He was rushed to intensive care at Harrogate District Hospital but doctors were unable to revive him.

He was pronounced dead at 10pm with his parents at his bedside.

The five-day adventure trip was immediately cancelled and all of the pupils taken home.

Geoff Mitchell, headteacher at Tadcaster Grammar, paid tribute to Joseph during a press conference at the school today.

He described Joseph as "a larger-than life-character with an infectious smile and a glint in his eye" and said that there was a "tremendous sense of grief".

"He was the sort of young lad who had a glint in his eye. He was the sort of young lad who lived for life. He was the sort of young lad who, if he had a question, he would knock on my door and I remember the last question which he asked me, which was why doesn’t this school offer GCSE PE.

"He was incredibly popular with the people not only in his form and in his year group but across the school. When I was sharing this with the students this morning and the parents last night it was immediately apparent the degree of affection the school had for him.

"He was a slightly larger-than-life character who would bounce along into your room, talk to you about things and he’d actually do something that was incredibly refreshing for young people, he would tell you the truth.

"And if that truth was something that the school might need to work on or whatever he said it and spoke it with a very good sense of purpose. He was an absolute delight and our heart goes out to the family."

Mr Mitchell said that he visited Joseph’s parents last night and stayed with his younger sister and brother until the childminder came to enable the parents to see their son in hospital.

Harry Long of the fell rescue team described the moment that Joseph's body was found.

He said: "I was told that one of the party had gone down this cave and failed to reappear and that floodwater had entered a part of the cave that they had been in.

"One of our members was on site extremely quickly and found that he could gain access - the water levels had dropped by that point. It was a case of locating this unfortunate lad and making certain we could do all we could for him before bringing him back to the surface."

Manchester Hole, considered a classic river cave, can normally be completed by experienced cavers in about 30 minutes.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed that police were investigating the cause of the accident. A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out later today.

Cynthia Welbourn, North Yorkshire County Council’s director of education, said that the adventure centre, which is used by hundreds of pupils every year, would be closed for the remainder of the week at least as investigations continue.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... _2,00.html
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UK cave accident

Postby Ernie Coffman » Nov 16, 2005 11:47 pm

In today's report, there are pictures of a reservoir being inundated with heavy downpour of rain storm that sent a flashflood of water down into the cave, that caused the death of this youngster.
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Teenager died after helping friends

Postby Lynn » Nov 17, 2005 8:03 am

Teenager died after helping friends
7.59AM, Thu Nov 17 2005

Friends of a 14-year-old boy killed in a caving accident have said he was trying to save the lives of his classmates.

Schoolfriend Lee Murphy, 14, said Joseph Lister let other children go before him to escape rising waters, only to find himself trapped underground.

He said: "It appears they were down in the cave when the water started to rise suddenly. It seems they had to swim to get out the other side. I've heard that there were only a couple of them left and Joe told them to go first. A girl in front of Joe said she could feel him grabbing her from behind as she went through."

Joseph was part of a group from Tadcaster Grammar School who were learning the basic principles of caving in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, on the first day of an annual school trip on Monday.

His "lifeless" body was recovered from an area known as Manchester Hole following a search by a rescue team and he was taken to hospital with acute hypothermia.

Joseph, from Steeton, near Tadcaster, was pronounced dead at Harrogate District Hospital on Monday night with his parents at his bedside.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said yesterday that his parents would have to wait to find out what caused the tragedy, after a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive.

He said officers were waiting for toxicology and other tests before pathologists could establish how the teenager died.

The spokesman said Joseph's parents, Martin and Paula, "would like to express their feelings of total devastation over their recent loss".

He added: "They are grateful for the help and support already received from their family and friends but do not feel they will be in a position to make any further comment until the full facts of this tragic incident are known."

Nov 16: Caving death exam inconclusive
Nov 15: Teenager dies on school trip

Article: http://www.itn.co.uk/news/1409925.html
http://www.flickr.com/groups/cavers CAVERS, CAVES & CAVING PHOTOS
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Postby Cheryl Jones » Nov 19, 2005 10:08 am

The Times (London) November 18, 2005

'He took a deep breath and went into the water. He never came out.'
By Andrew Norfolk

A classmate of a teenager who died in a caving accident has spoken of how they tried to escape

A TRAUMATISED girl has described her final moments with a 14-year-old boy who died when a school caving trip was hit by flash floods.

Amy Ryder, also 14, was one of 11 Tadcaster Grammar School pupils who were exploring the North Yorkshire cave system with a teacher and two instructors when rising waters forced them to flee. She was alongside Joe Lister as they waited to swim through a narrow, submerged tunnel that stood between them and freedom.

Amy, from Copmanthorpe, near York, said that she had decided to speak publicly about the children’s ordeal “to set the record straightâ€
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No charges after boy's cave death

Postby Cheryl Jones » Dec 13, 2006 10:26 pm

No charges after boy's cave death
No-one will face criminal charges following the death of 14-year-old boy on a school caving trip, police said.

Joseph Lister was part of a group from Tadcaster Grammar School learning to cave in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorks.

He had to be rescued from an area known as Manchester Hole and was taken to hospital suffering from acute hypothermia in November 2005.

Joseph, from Steeton, near Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, was later pronounced dead at Harrogate District Hospital.

'Infectious smile'

It is thought he had become trapped in the cave system by rising water levels.

The incident came less than two weeks after ministers published plans to encourage more school trips, which included a guarantee for every pupil to have the chance to attend at least one residential trip during their time at school.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "After due consideration of the file by the Crown Prosecution Service there will be no criminal proceedings arising from the incident."

He said the coroner had been informed of this decision.

Following Joseph's death his head teacher, Geoff Mitchell, said the school had lost someone "very special" and described him as "a larger than life character with an infectious smile".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/u ... 177599.stm

Published: 2006/12/13 19:02:09 GMT
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Cave death boy inquest next year

Postby Wayne Harrison » Dec 14, 2006 9:22 am

(a further update)

An inquest into the death of a 14-year-old boy who drowned on a school caving trip will not take place until well into next year, police have said.

North Yorkshire Police said on Wednesday nobody would be charged over the death in November 2005 of Tadcaster Grammar School pupil Joseph Lister.

Joseph was in a group learning caving in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, on the first day of a school trip.

His body was recovered by a rescue team and he was later pronounced dead.

A post-mortem examination determined his cause of death as drowning.

It is understood he was trapped in the cave system by rising water levels.

On Thursday, police and coroner's office officials said no inquest date had been fixed and it was anticipated the hearing would be later next year.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/u ... 179667.stm

Published: 2006/12/14 12:49:58 GMT
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