Volunteers kept treats in helmets to keep spirits up during 54-hour cave rescue
Volunteers kept "treats" in their helmets to keep their spirits up as they rescued a man who had been trapped in a cave in Wales for more than two days.
The man was stretchered out of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in the Brecon Beacons at around 7:45pm on Monday following a 54-hour rescue operation.
After being lifted to the surface, he was clapped and cheered by rescuers before being helped into a cave rescue Land Rover ready to be transported down to a waiting ambulance.
Around 70 volunteers made their way down off the mountain to the rescue centre before watching as the man, in his 40s, was driven away to Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
Steve Thomas, of South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team, said volunteers created a "friendly environment" during the rescue.
"You're (soaked) to the skin," he said. "There's always a draft in caves, so there's a chill factor, and it doesn't take long to sap you. To keep our spirits up we all have little treats in our helmets. It's a very friendly environment that we create."
Mr Thomas said the rescuers were all "100 per cent keen" and "dedicated" throughout the ordeal.
"We're prepared, and we won't encounter things we haven't prepared for, so in that regard it's something that we know we can do", he said.
"The volunteers were all 100 per cent keen - dedicated - nobody complained about anything they had to do.
"A lot of it involved lying in water with a stretcher being pulled over the top of you, and nobody said no. Everybody just did what they had to do.
"We're all part of the same team."
Described as an experienced caver, the man had been trapped since around 1pm on Saturday after suffering a fall. His injuries are said to be non-life threatening, but are believed to include a broken jaw, leg, and spinal injuries.
Despite the difficult conditions, Mr Thomas said caving was not "reckless".
"We're very aware of our environment that we enjoy, it's not a reckless thing we do," he said.
"It's no more dangerous than anything else. To be honest, I think it's more dangerous to sit on the sofa watching TV."
More than 240 people were involved in the operation, including at least eight cave rescue teams from around the UK.
Teams of rescuers worked in shifts to bring the man to safety but were unable to airlift him to hospital by helicopter because of the weather.
Paul Taylor, spokesman for South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team, said the man
had gone into the Cwmdoor entrance of the caves before he fell.
Peter Francis, a SMWCRT spokesperson, said the rescue is the longest in South Wales caving history.
He said: “The caver was very unlucky here. He's an experienced caver, a fit caver. And it was a matter of putting his foot in the wrong place.
“He wasn't in a dangerous part of the cave, it's just something moved from under him.”
The caves located near to Penwyllt are 300 metres deep, making them the deepest in the UK.
Discovered in 1947, they are also the third longest caves in the UK, stretching more than 30 miles.