There is something terrifying about the prospect of becoming stuck in a confined space. A primal fear kicks in and survival becomes everything. Thankfully, this is a fate that most of us will never experience but for those who do, experts in Confined Space Rescue will rush to assist.
Imagining being trapped, and unable to move is one of the most horrific thoughts. Miles from anywhere, with limited supplies and with the possibility of rising water – this is the stuff of nightmares. Yet when the worst does occur, there are highly trained professionals with the knowledge and specialist equipment to get people out of a tight spot.
Such events attract attention, often being shown on live television purely because of their dramatic nature. They unite communities, demonstrate the best of humanity and can even create new ideas and methods for future rescue efforts.
Here we examine some of the most famous and harrowing rescue efforts from disasters across the world:
Deep in the Atacama Desert in Chile, a huge slab of stone weighing twice the Empire State Building caused an explosion in a mine. As 33 miners became trapped deep under ground, rescue efforts began in earnest as the miners were stuck behind this mega rock and plunged into total darkness.
It took a staggering 69 days before, miraculously, all 33 miners were brought to the surface. It was truly an amazing example of resilience. The miners organised shifts, rationed their limited food supply and prayed together daily. They refused to give up, as did the Confined Space Rescue organisations. A tunnel was drilled to enable their escape and the event was aired live on television.
1. Thailand Cave Rescue
Heavy rain in the summer of 2018 caused a soccer team and coach to become trapped inside a cave system in Thailand. The team had entered the cave to carry out a ceremony but the rain had soon flooded the area and completely blocked their exit.
The event drew global attention, with rescue organisations travelling from all over the world. The boys were found after 9 days, a couple of miles from the cave entrance, deep underground.
Getting them out safely was extremely tricky. Waiting for the monsoon season to pass would have left them without supplies for too long, whilst teaching the boys to swim and dive was also time-consuming and risky. It was decided that divers would navigate the narrow, submerged passages to retrieve the boys. Sadly, this was not without great risk and tragically a Thai diver died in the process.
To prevent panic, the boys were sedated and divers worked in teams to extract the boys. It took three days but thanks to ingenuity and human resilience, all boys and their coach were rescued from the caves. That will probably be the last time any of them ever enter a cave again!
When an 18 month old baby fell into a well in Texas in 1987, the whole country was on tenterhooks as her rescue was aired live on television. Two years later, a movie was made about the events of that day.
Baby Jessica was stuck in a well about 7 metres below ground level with a diameter of only 20cm. It took a staggering 58 hours to extract her from the well,
The plan was to drill a hole parallel to the one that Jessica was trapped inside and then create a horizontal shaft across to the well in order to extract her. However, this plan was thwarted on discovery of thick rock surrounding the well. Local oil drillers were brought in but their jackhammers were no match for the horizontal work and thick stone.
Thankfully, a mining engineer brought a new technology in the form of waterjet cutting which could slice through thick stone. It took 45 hours for the hole and shaft to be completed and a paramedic descended to retrieve Jessica. During the operation, rescuers reportedly heard the little girl singing to herself!
1. Deepest Rescue
In 1991, the deepest cave rescue took place in New Mexico after a woman broke her leg and became trapped. A huge operation was launched including 200 people who worked tirelessly over 4 days to bring Emily Mobley back to the surface. This incident is currently the most remote and deepest cave rescue to take place on US soil.
These incredible stories demonstrate the power of the human spirit, resilience, a desire to never give up and the ability to create unique solutions to seemingly impossible problems.
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