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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 1, 2007 18:10:52 GMT -5
23 trapped in Cango caves24.com 01/01/2007 21:38 - (SA) Johannesburg - Rescuers are trying to free 23 people trapped in the Cango Caves, in Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, SABC radio news reported on Monday. They were trapped when a woman became stuck in one of the narrow passages more than a kilometre into the caves at 12:30. Initial attempts to free the woman failed. A rescue team from George was now cutting away a piece of the cave. The SABC reported that while no lives were in immediate danger, one of the trapped men was a diabetic. Medication had been taken to him. Article
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jan 1, 2007 18:48:23 GMT -5
Looks like this is a commercial cave in South Africa. The web address is www.cangocaves.co.za/ and it looks like a nice cave - well except if you get stuck that is! hopefully the woman will be extracted and all will get back out in fine shape.
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Jan 2, 2007 9:16:59 GMT -5
Big woman in tight passage blocks caveRescuers battled for ten hours at the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn to free an overweight woman who became stuck in a narrow passage, trapping 23 other tourists in the caves. "We were back in operation this morning (Tuesday)," said Hein Gerstner, manager of the Cango Caves. There was no damage to the caves as no drilling or cutting was needed to rescue the woman who got stuck on Monday. "There was permission granted to drill or to cut rock in a worse case scenario. Look, it would have been a last resort." Gerstner said the woman was eventually freed using rock climbing equipment and liquid paraffin. Full Story
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Post by Innermostphoto on Jan 3, 2007 21:23:33 GMT -5
I am sorry but that is just too funny! Perhaps they should have been outright truthful and said look ma’am, you are not going because you are too fat. End of story. It would have saved a lot of unnecessary effort. Bob biddix www.innermostimagery.com
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Post by jonsdigs on Jan 6, 2007 8:44:32 GMT -5
Drama not over till the fat lady signs rescue billJanuary 6, 2007 Port Elizebeth Herald By Cathy Dippnall Garden Route Correspondent THE adventure that trapped overweight Veronica Hlabelela in the Tunnel of Love at the Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn on New Year‘s Day, could cost as much as R15 000. But whoever ends up footing the bill, the drama – which was reported around the globe – has meant a huge publicity boost for the tourist attraction with visitors now flooding in to see where Hlabelela got stuck. Hlabelela, 37, of Durban, was trapped in a 50cm-wide tunnel for over nine hours with 23 other people behind her, including a person with diabetes and a child. In real terms, the cost could be much higher, but government-run rescue services and NGOs will absorb the expenses themselves. Representatives from these organisations, however, have said the cost of a rescue mission is not something they consider when it comes to saving someone‘s life. “The government emergency rescue services are run by a province (in this case, Western Cape) and are reliant on government subsidies, which absorb the costs of rescue operations,” said Eden District emergency services spokesman Dion van Wyk. NSRI, which operates as an NGO and which is called out repeatedly to rescue people who have not heeded warnings, also does not consider the financial aspects of rescue operations. “The cost of an emergency is not taken into consideration when a person‘s life is at stake. Our aim is to rescue people irrespective of costs,” said Craig Lambinon, NSRI spokesman. “Our organisation relies on sponsorships and donations. After we have done a rescue operation, we ask for a donation if possible from the people concerned.” However, the private ambulance service Ambu 911 of Oudtshoorn said they would invoice the Cango Caves for their part in the rescue which took over nine hours, with over 20 rescue personnel from different units being called out. “The cost is in the region of R10 000 to R15 000, inclusive of all equipment needed,” said manager Anthony Fivas. “We expect the cost to be covered by the Cango Caves‘ insurance which covers emergencies such as this.” Hein Gertsner, manager of the Cango Caves – which belongs to Oudtshoorn municipality – will meet municipal officials after January 15 to discuss whether or not Hlabelela will have to pay any costs to the municipality. “The final cost of the rescue operation is pure guesswork at the moment,” Gertsner said. “However we have had the best free advertising we could wish for as the news has become known worldwide.” After a worryingly slow start to the season, numbers at the caves picked up over Christmas. After the incident was made public, the adventure tour was booked out on January 2 and people are still flooding in. Gertsner said visitors specifically asked to go to the Tunnel of Love and wanted to know where the woman was stuck. “You never know – this (the rescue) could just turn us around financially and make it one of the best seasons ever,” said Gertsner. Article
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Post by madratdan on Jan 8, 2007 10:30:06 GMT -5
Here is another rescue story from the same cave Tourists locked in Cango Caves By Derrick Spies, Safety and Security Reporter FOUR tourists were locked in the Cango Caves for two hours on Saturday evening, and had to phone the police to come and let them out. A police spokesman confirmed that the four, South African Amanda Claasen, Italian Angelo del Parigi, and Argentines Carolina Ciranja and Damian Pertile, had been locked in and had used a landline telephone inside the caves to call the police. Claasen said: “We had fallen behind the rest of the group. The guide told us to follow the lights, while she went to help some of the others,” she said. Claasen said they had then followed the lights but soon came upon a part that they had already completed, and turned round to go in the opposite direction. Five minutes later, the lights went off. “We shouted for help, but soon realised no-one could here us. It was pitch black and we used our cellphones to light the area,” she said. Shortly after this, Claasen said, they had found the landline phone nearby, but some of the buttons stuck, so it took her over half an hour before she could dial 10111 to get the police. “At first they didn‘t want to believe me, but eventually I convinced them that we were really locked in the caves, and they started phoning people at the caves to help us,” she said. It took another hour-and-a-half before the four were rescued. “We were lucky that we were all in good health and no-one slipped and hurt themselves, but when they eventually found us, they started blaming us for getting lost,” she said. This comes after an overweight woman got stuck in Cango‘s Tunnel of Love for nine hours on New Year‘s Day. www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n05_08012007.htm
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Jan 8, 2007 13:14:17 GMT -5
Ah-um? Sounds like Cango Caves might be a bit prone to cave rescues lately.
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jan 8, 2007 18:22:35 GMT -5
It would be rough to be a lightless tourist in a commercial cave when all the lights went out! At least you would know that by the next tour you would get rescued unless you were on the last tour of the day of course! That's why I always carry a light even to commercial caves! One never knows!
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L Roebuck
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Post by L Roebuck on Jan 11, 2007 9:37:28 GMT -5
Cave guides must upgrade safety measuresBy Wesley April Officials are due to investigate how an overweight woman got stuck, and four tourists got lost, in the Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn. The manager of the Cango Caves, Hein Gerstner, said the events were unfortunate and had brought negative media attention to the caves. In the latest incident, Amanda Claassen from Cape Town, Angelo Del Parigi from Italy, and Carolina Ciranja and Damian Pertile, both from Argentina, got lost after falling behind their tour group. Full Article
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Brian Roebuck
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Caving - the one activity that really brings you to your knees!
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jan 11, 2007 22:16:22 GMT -5
Man those commercial caves are dangerous! It sounds like someones tour guide staff will be getting remedial training very soon!
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Post by Azurerana on Jan 12, 2007 10:34:37 GMT -5
It would be rough to be a lightless tourist in a commercial cave when all the lights went out! At least you would know that by the next tour you would get rescued unless you were on the last tour of the day of course! That's why I always carry a light even to commercial caves! One never knows! Yeah, Dr. Beaner, but you better keep it hidden unless you clear it with the guide. Lots of show caves frown on tourists with lights, as turning the lights out on a rowdy group is taught as a crowd control or hurry-up measure. Other ways to get out of lightless show caves are to follow the handrails, or the path. All that being said, I usually have a mini-mag. If the guide with the cop-kicker Maglight or full bore headlamp is threatened by a gray-haired woman with a mini-mag, he/she probably has other issues, too. As far as Cango Caves--maybe they ought to change their ad campaign, in an attempt to attract a smarter clientele. *|:-) I'm not sure most of this can be blamed on the staff. (Other than whomever led the tour with the missing people either didn't count their tour, or the tour was too big for one person to handle in the first place. ) There are all sorts of ways to make sure everyone who goes in comes out... One thing that confuses me (and one would have to see the tour map to find out) is how the party got stuck behind the woman in the first place. Most US show cave routes are set up either as a straight line, or in a circle. (Roughly). Why couldn't the people backtrack? If the tour is a straight line (in to a point, then back out--logically, the lady should have been stuck on the way in (blocking no one). If the tour is a wild cave (ok, one can slide down a slot, but then be unable to climb back up) then they should have denied her access based on her size. Heck, they do that even at Six Flags--you must be this tall to ride this ride--. There is something which smells fishy (as in old-time free publicity cave promotion) about this whole story.
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Post by madratdan on Jan 12, 2007 11:07:37 GMT -5
I couldn't help but laugh about this comment. I'm thinking that since it is in a third world country and all, this type of thing should be expected. Makes me want to go visit the caves to see what all the hoopla is about and get an idea of just how wild this tour really is. ;D
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Brian Roebuck
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Jan 13, 2007 9:15:15 GMT -5
"It was pitch black and we used our cellphones to light the area,"
I knew cellphones just had to be good for something underground! Lets see - you can play games while you wait, shoot photos, create text messages to your loved ones in case you never get out alive, listen to music, reset your ringtones, read your address book if you get really bored, or .. use the light they give off to find a real phone! ;D
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Post by L Roebuck on Jan 13, 2007 10:13:42 GMT -5
Ack! - Cave Guides Gone Wild! ;D ;D Probe into tourist dramas at cavesCango guides accused of being negligent ALLEGATIONS of negligence on the part of guides conducting tours around the Cango Caves are to be investigated by management and the Oudtshoorn municipality. This follows last Sunday’s drama at the renowned Southern Cape tourist attraction when three foreign and one local tourist were left stranded underground in the dark, and also the major rescue operation a week earlier when 23 people were trapped behind a woman who got stuck in one of the cave’s tight tunnels. Cango Caves manager Hein Gertsner said proper guiding procedures were not followed on Sunday, and neither were normal safety regulations. Full Article
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