Post by Sharon Faulkner on May 14, 2007 0:33:54 GMT -5
Three youths rescued from cave
05/12/2007
by Brian Chasnoff
Equipped with just one yellow flashlight, six youths descended Friday around midnight into a vast system of caves inside Longhorn Quarry on Wurzbach Parkway near O'Connor Road.
Frightened, three of them quickly turned back. The other three, between the ages of 17 and 21, soon got disoriented in the pitch-blackness and became lost.
Rescue workers with the San Antonio Fire Department found them around 6:45 a.m. this morning about 1,000 feet inside the caves, which firefighters described as "swiss cheese," and pulled them to safety, said District Fire Chief Randy Jenkins.
One of the youths suffered minor injuries to his legs, and all three were "scared and dehydrated," Jenkins said. Emergency medical technicians treated them at the scene before police placed them in handcuffs and drove them away.
Authorities said the amateur spelunkers likely would be charged with trespassing.
"Those caves are not to be explored," Jenkins said, adding it was unclear how the youths circumvented iron bars placed at the caves' openings to prevent entry.
Around 3:30 a.m., one of the youths still in the caves found a cell phone signal and called one of his friends who had decided against going deeper. That youth called firefighters.
Rescue workers had to cut through iron bars and tie together about six 250-foot rescue ropes before penetrating the caves. Three hours later, the youths were located in the darkness.
Article
05/12/2007
by Brian Chasnoff
Equipped with just one yellow flashlight, six youths descended Friday around midnight into a vast system of caves inside Longhorn Quarry on Wurzbach Parkway near O'Connor Road.
Frightened, three of them quickly turned back. The other three, between the ages of 17 and 21, soon got disoriented in the pitch-blackness and became lost.
Rescue workers with the San Antonio Fire Department found them around 6:45 a.m. this morning about 1,000 feet inside the caves, which firefighters described as "swiss cheese," and pulled them to safety, said District Fire Chief Randy Jenkins.
One of the youths suffered minor injuries to his legs, and all three were "scared and dehydrated," Jenkins said. Emergency medical technicians treated them at the scene before police placed them in handcuffs and drove them away.
Authorities said the amateur spelunkers likely would be charged with trespassing.
"Those caves are not to be explored," Jenkins said, adding it was unclear how the youths circumvented iron bars placed at the caves' openings to prevent entry.
Around 3:30 a.m., one of the youths still in the caves found a cell phone signal and called one of his friends who had decided against going deeper. That youth called firefighters.
Rescue workers had to cut through iron bars and tie together about six 250-foot rescue ropes before penetrating the caves. Three hours later, the youths were located in the darkness.
Article
