Watch the dramatic BBC documentary covering the 54 hour rescue from Ogof Ffynnon Ddu last year!
The legendary rescue of George Linnane, who faced multiple life-threatening injuries within Britain’s deepest cave system, was made into a documentary and broadcast recently on UK television.
A year on following the incident, the documentary has not been broadcast outside of Wales until now.
After a false floor collapsed whilst George and his team were on an expedition exploring Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, in the Brecon Beacons, the 54-hour epic began.
The documentary illustrates how a team of over 300 individuals from across Wales and the UK came together and saved his life in one of the longest cave rescues in UK history. This colossal effort means that George Linnane is alive today: “Only cavers can rescue cavers” said George in the documentary.
Many members of the BCA and regional cave rescue organisations travelled to The Brecon Beacons to assist in the rescue in Wales’ deepest cave, making the documentary personal to a lot of viewers.
The caving community is small meaning many of the rescuers knew one another, Mark Burkey commented saying: “Should the worst happen, you’ve got friends to call on, as well as professionals”.
The Facebook post announcing the documentary’s broadcast on the BCA’s page has reached over 14.5k people with 82 shares so far. This story resonates with a lot of cavers and has also highlighted to the general public the challenges in caving, and unlike most other sports, how difficult the rescues can be when something goes wrong.
It also shows that even vastly experienced cavers, such as George, can find themselves in need of rescue due objective dangers and situations that are out of their control and sends a strong warning not to venture underground without significant experience or qualified supervison.
If you missed it, catch it here on iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0019h1d/the-rescue-54-hours-under-the-ground
Imogen Campion