QUARRY PLUNGE ALMOST FATAL
Major rock fall seconds after youth’s dive:
AMOUNTAIN rescue expert has warned of the dangers of diving at quarries after two youths narrowly escaped being seriously injured or killed.
In a video taken by onlooker Mark Humphreys, at around 2pm on Saturday, July 7, one of the males is seen diving into the quarry near Llanberis.
As he swims to the side of the pool, tonnes of slate cascades into the water, close to where the second youth was making his way down to jump.
Both of the boys miraculously escaped injury and Mr Humphreys said he was releasing the video in a bid to warn people of the dangers of cliff diving in quarries.
Miles Hill, of Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, said there’s a reason people are warned off such places.
He told our sister paper the Daily Post: “Basically the quarries are out of bounds for good reason. The rock is unstable as you can see.
“Even if it looks solid, big pieces can go. As much as we would want anybody to have fun, we wouldn’t advise people to be messing around in quarries.
“They area is especially unstable and there is also the threat of cold water shock.”
The RNLI has been conducting a campaign warning of cold water shock this summer.
It is the body’s short term involuntary response to being immersed in cold water and is a leading cause of death around coastal areas.
The problem becomes more acute in warmer weather when people want to cool off and more so in enclosed bodies of water which can be deep and very cold.
Reacting to the video, North Wales Police Tweeted warnings about messing around in quarries and said it would be mounting patrols.
The force said: “Quarries and lakes are not safe places to swim or dive. Parents, please be aware of the dangers. Police will be patrolling these areas in the upcoming summer months.”
Special Constable Chief Inspector Neale Lewis-Jones lives locally to Llanberis.
He said: “I live and play in Llanberis. What we saw yesterday was potential for loss of life not ‘kids just having fun’.
“Please, please, can we get the message out there that this is potentially fatal.”