Saving lost cavers from the Mátyáshegyi-cave

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On the evening of April 7, 2019, the Hungarian Cave Rescue Organization rescued a lost group from the Mátyáshegyi cave. Three young people started the cave-tour with an old caver guide at noon.

The tour began on the easy and popular “Great Circle” cave section, later they aimed at the underground lake that forms the deepest point of the cave.  However they got lost in the labyrinth part of the way to the lake, and they could not find the passage neither down to the lake or up that could be got through safely by this group.

According to Hungarian caving customs, all hiking groups have a surface watch, which alerts the cave rescuers if the group fails to reach the surface.

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A lost tourist rescue from the Papp Ferenc Cave

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On the afternoon of February 23, 2019, Zoltán B., a 34-year-old tourist, equipped with a headlamp, climbed into the Papp Ferenc Cave which is on the border of village Pilisborosjenő, on the side of hill named Ezüsthegy. He spent about four hours in the cave and then headed out.

He got lost in the infamous, clothesline rubble labyrinth formed in the sandstone beneath the entrance, being unable to find a way out.

This place is extremely deceptive, you can even hear his voice from the surface, there are places where you can see the light of his lamp between the stones, everything seems to be very close - but in the narrow gaps where the sound and light still come through, it is very difficult to find the only path to the surface where there is enough place to get out.

Injured hiker rescued from the top of valley "Lukács-Árok"

Gyülekező csoportokAn alarm arrived a few minutes before 4pm on October 15, 2018, that a lady member of a couple had suffered an ankle injury while hiking, somewhere around the top of the gorge named Rám-szakadék. They could not determine their exact position, nor was the signal strength sufficient for proper communication. They indicated that they would definitely ask for a rescue because they could not continue their tour or move back with the injured leg.

It could not be exactly determined whether they were close to the upper or lower endpoints. We issued the alert to the membership and went to the scene in two groups. Those who were in Northern Budapest (closer to the site) were directed to the site, who came from the south part, they went to the warehouse, where they collected equipment, and they continued to Dömös (a village near the lower end of the gorge).

Unfortunate death in Abaliget cave

On the afternoon of August 4, 2018, a man participating in a tourist cave tour in the Abaliget Stalactite Cave became ill and his circulation collapsed as he made his way up the stairs leading to the Great Hall at the end of the built-up part of the cave.

Accidentally, as a visitor to the tour, one of the doctors of our rescue service started an immediate resuscitation together with the arrived National Ambulance Service however the man's life could not be saved.

The corpse was transported to the surface by external members of the BMSz present and arriving at the site, on the stretcher of the territorial unit.

We must emphasize that the Abaligeti Cave - like the other visitor friendly, pre-built, sometimes wheelchair accessible, visitable caves in Hungary - can be visited in complete safety in street clothes, without any training. Unfortunately, the issue that happened can occur anywhere, on the street, or even at home. 

BMSz expresses its condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

Accident in Thailand - summary

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On 23 June 2018, 13 visitors disappeared in the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in the Dai Nang Non region in the northern border zone of Thailand. The missing people are young between the ages of 11 and 25, a local youth football team and their coach. 

The total length of the cave is about 10 km, it has several entrances. The cave is a complex, active karst cave with a creek, a part of which intended for tourists was equipped with sidewalks, stairs and railings. 

The entrances were not closed, but information and danger signs were displayed. The main danger of the cave is that, unlike other karst areas, the possible floods here do not last for hours or days, but the flooding can persist throughout the rainy season. Getting the missing football team out of the cave was also prevented by the fact that some of the passages used to go inwards were submerged due to the heavy rains, making it impossible for the team to get out due to a lack of quailification and equipments

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