A teenager was rescued from a California mineshaft after he and his friends decided to explore the cave using household rope, officials said.
The Placer County Fire Department said crews, with the help of the Auburn City Fire Department, responded to a medical rescue on Feb. 10, for a 16-year-old boy who was stuck in a vertical mine shaft nearly 50 feet deep.
When crews arrived, they were led into the cave by the victim’s friends and learned that he and his friends had entered the shaft to explore, after hiking about 180 feet through a horizontal shaft into the side of a mountain.
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Using household ropes, the three youths rappelled about 40–50 feet down a vertical shaft. But on their way back up, the rope broke, and the third victim fell about 30 feet down to the bottom of the shaft.
Officials said the victim attempted to climb his way out of the shaft but ultimately ran out of strength and positioned himself on a ledge while waiting for rescuers.
When rescuers arrived, they set up a lightweight, yet complex rope system and established a system to monitor the air quality in the shaft.
The primary rescuer from the team then rappelled down to the victim’s location, secured him with a harness, and he was lifted out of the shaft to safety.
Once safe, the victim was taken to a local hospital to be treated.
"The Placer County Fire Department Rescue Team is one of the busiest teams in the north state and was able to facilitate this technical rescue in a very confined and austere environment 180 feet inside the mountain," the fire department said in a press release. "This incident highlights the unique natural hazards ever present within our beautiful and rugged landscape in Placer County. Our commitment to public safety in these diverse scenarios using highly trained special operations teams is paramount in our service to the public."
