Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

126 | June• 2018

TRAPPED UNDERGROUND

trappedcaversout;theymaybein-

jured or too tired and depleted to

attempt climbing the ladder. Or they

may be dead.

At10.30pm,JohnandCharlenede-

scend into the cave with emergency

supplies, including thermoses of hot

chocolate and cofee.

“Andrew!”theycall.“Jason?”

here is no response. Slowly, they

make their way through the mud,

rocks and boulders that lead to

Bastard’s Crawl but they’re finally

stopped by the water, which contin-

uestogushintheopeningunabated.

Thewindmakesitdifficulttohear

themselves, never mind people who

arestuckontheotherside.

hey leave the supplies and some

lights,thenturnaroundtomake

theirwayback.Nearlythreeagonis-

inghoursaftertheyirstwentdown,

they exit the cave. It is 1.20am.

Arthur, Matt, Zac and Adam are

determined to stay. he rescuers hold

onto the thought that it is not a recov-

erybutarescue.Thatbecomesthe

group’s prayer, recited throughout

the night as they keep watch, drink

cofeeandtrytostaywarm.Andrew

willgetJasonout.Hehasto.

But please, please let the rain stop.

they make their way to the ladder,
emergingfromthecaveat5.20pm,
exhausted and wet where Adam,
worried, is waiting. It is still raining.
As Matt drives down the trail to ind
aspotwherehisphonewillwork,the
other three rotate between the cave
entrance and keeping warm in An-
drew ’s van. Wait ing. Watching. Hop-
ingfortheirfriendstoemerge.
At7.15pm,theyhearMatt’sSUV
coming back up the trail.
“Ground, and Cave Search and Res-

cueisontheway,”Mattsays.“hey’ll
behereasquicklyaspossible.”
At 9pm, both teams arrive. The
ground rescue crew from the Alberni
Valleyistheretoprovidesupport,
settinguplightsandamakeshift
camp with paramedics on standby.
he initial cave rescue team is made
up of four of their own – cavers who
live on Vancouver Island, including
married couple John Lay and Charlene
Forrest. Driving up, they worry that it’s
a recovery operation. But when they
learn that one of the trapped cavers is
Andrew, they know the two men have
the best shot at surviving.
Whentheyarrive,thefirsttask
issettingupasystemofropesand
pulleys called a Z-drag to haul the

Rescuers make their way through mud, rocks and

boulders until they are stopped by the water