Mossdale Caverns, Yorkshire Dales, Saturday 24 June 1967: ten cavers go in on a fine summer day. Four turn back. Then the weather breaks, Mossdale Beck floods the entrance, and six men are cut off deep inside. Rescuers dig a trench and dam the beck to reach them. Told from published accounts of the tragedy. Content note: this story ends with six deaths.

The case: Mossdale Caverns, Upper Wharfedale, Yorkshire Dales, England, 24 June 1967.

On Saturday 24 June 1967, ten cavers entered Mossdale Caverns in Upper Wharfedale, in the Yorkshire Dales. Four turned back after about three hours. Heavy rain swelled Mossdale Beck and flooded the entrance and much of the cave. Rescuers diverted the beck with a trench and a dam; the bodies of five of the six cavers left inside were found in the Far Marathon Crawls, and the sixth later. The cave was sealed.

Chapters

0:00 The entrance

0:29 Ten cavers

0:59 The beck

1:24 The dam

1:52 Far Marathon

2:22 Sealed

2:45 What the record says

Sources

Wikipedia, "Mossdale Caverns" (the 1967 tragedy, with its references)

"Remembering Mossdale fifty years on", with John Conway's account, Darkness Below, 2017

Full transcript:

https://pub-413c1fc5107e439dbec7a1f1c322ed45.r2.dev/transcripts/ep12.vtt

Caving Stories on YouTube:

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Tongue River Cave, Wyoming, June 2002: nine young cavers are exploring when a 300-pound boulder comes loose and falls, trapping two of them, Barry Blaha and Danna Herbert, in a small passage. Their friends run for help. Sheridan County rescuers work for hours and move the boulder with a winch. Told from the National Speleological Society's accident report, with the cave's earlier record.

The case: Tongue River Cave, Sheridan County, Wyoming, June 2002.

In June 2002, Barry Blaha, Danna Herbert and seven other young cavers were exploring Tongue River Cave, Wyoming, when a 300-pound boulder became dislodged and fell, trapping Blaha and Herbert in a small passage. Several companions went for help. After several hours of work, Sheridan County rescuers moved the boulder with a winch and other tools, and the two were freed at about 10:30 p.m.

Chapters

0:00 Three hundred pounds

0:26 Nine young cavers

0:59 The boulder

1:19 For help

1:32 The winch

1:53 What the record says

Sources

NSS News, American Caving Accidents, August 2005, Part 2 (2002 incidents), p. 18: "Tongue River Cave, Wyoming, rockfall entrapment"

NSS News, American Caving Accidents, June 2003, Part 2 (1999 incidents): Tongue River Cave, 26 September and 6 November 1999

Wikipedia, "Tongue River Cave" (location)

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A cave on private land in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 7 and 8 October 2022: a young caver squeezes around a 90-degree bend in a passage nine inches high, and cannot come back through it. Cavers of the Paha Sapa Grotto bring wired field phones, hammer drills and webbing, forty minutes of crawling from the entrance. Eighteen hours later, he crawls out on his own. Told from the press accounts of the rescue.

The case: A cave on private land in the Black Hills, South Dakota, 7-8 October 2022.

On 7 and 8 October 2022, a young caver exploring a cave on private property in the Black Hills of South Dakota became stuck at a 90-degree bend, in a space about nine inches high, some forty minutes of crawling from the entrance. Cavers of the Paha Sapa Grotto and rescuers from Custer and Pennington counties worked through the night with hammer drills. After eighteen hours, he pulled himself free with webbing and crawled out under his own power.

Chapters

0:00 Nine inches

0:34 Private land

1:13 The call

1:54 A wire to the surface

2:21 The drills

2:53 The webbing

3:38 What the record says

Sources

Jason Ferguson, "Between a rock and a hard place", Custer County Chronicle, 20 October 2022 (Hill City Prevailer News): https://hillcityprevailernews.com/content/between-rock-and-hard-place-0

Patrick Springer, "Cave explorer rescued after 18 hours stuck underground in Black Hills", InForum, 13 October 2022: https://www.inforum.com/news/south-dakota/cave-explorer-rescued-after-18-hours-stuck-underground-in-black-hills

KOTA Territory News, "Paha Sapa Grotto team rescues man from cave", 12 October 2022: https://www.kotatv.com/2022/10/12/custer-sar-team-rescues-man-cave/

Full transcript:

https://pub-413c1fc5107e439dbec7a1f1c322ed45.r2.dev/transcripts/ep10.vtt

Caving Stories on YouTube:

English: https://www.youtube.com/@caving_stories

Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/@cavingstoriesenespanol

Portuguese: https://www.youtube.com/@cavingstoriespt

Follow the show in your podcast app to get each new episode as soon as it is out.

Produced by Caving Stories.