Cave rescue

Cave rescue is a highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost cave explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments.

Cave rescue borrows elements from firefighting, confined space rescue, rope rescue and mountaineering techniques but has also developed its own special techniques and skills for performing work in conditions that are almost always difficult and demanding. Since cave accidents, on an absolute scale, are a very limited form of incident, and cave rescue is a very specialized skill, normal emergency staff are rarely employed in the underground elements of the rescue. Instead, this is usually undertaken by other experienced cavers who undergo regular training through their organizations and are called up at need.

Cave rescues are slow, deliberate operations that require both a high level of organized teamwork and good communications. The extremes of the cave environment (air temperature, water, vertical depth) dictate every aspect of a cave rescue. Therefore the rescuers must adapt skills and techniques that are as dynamic as the environment they must operate in.

A network of international cave rescue units is organised under the banner of the Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS). Most international cave rescue units such as the New South Wales Cave Rescue Squad based in Sydney, Australia are listed with contacts in the event of a cave incident.

The world's first cave rescue team, the Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO), was founded in 1935 in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Like all UK cave rescue groups it is composed of volunteer cavers and funded entirely by donations. In the UK teams typically have 'callout lists' containing the details of up to 200 cavers who can be contacted in case of an emergency.

Organized Cave Rescue Units in the United States are generally city/county funded volunteer squads, composed mainly of seasoned, local cavers. The typical Southeastern US cave rescue team averages between 15 and 20 active members. Due to the excessive amount of manpower required on a large scale cave rescue, it is not uncommon for multiple cave rescue units from various regions to assist another in extensive underground operations. Because organized cave rescue teams are quite rare, it is also quite common for local units to cover regions that extend far beyond their agency's jurisdiction. The number of cave rescues in North America are relatively small compared to other common wilderness rescues. The average number of reported cave related incidents is usually 40 to 50 per year. In most years approximately 10 percent of reported accidents result in death.

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