Woman rescued from disused Shropshire mine
A woman who was caving in Shropshire ended up being the centre of a six and a half hour rescue operation last night after suffering an epileptic fit several hundred feet underground.
The woman, believed to be 24 years old, had been enjoying her hobby of caving with a group of friends in a disused mine in Snailbeach, near Minsterley, shortly before 9.30pm, when she suffered an epileptic fit.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Fortunately, the woman had medication with her for her epilepsy which the group quickly administered. Whilst some of the group stayed with the woman, others made their way out of the mine to dial 999 and await the arrival of ambulance crews at the entrance to the mine shaft.
“Due to the nature of the woman’s condition and the unusual location, a HART paramedic, who is trained in confined space working, went with the group members who are part of a mine rescue team, back underground.
“A doctor and other members of the mine rescue team from Gloucester and South Wales were called to the incident. The woman was a considerable distance underground. In total, it took the rescue team almost an hour of walking and climbing to reach the casualty.
“Once with the patient, the HART paramedic assessed and stabilised her condition. As well as suffering several fits, the woman was complaining of pain in her back and side after reportedly slipping during the fit.”
A paramedic and mine rescue team immobilised the woman in a rescue stretcher and carried her to the bottom of The Chapel Shaft, which is about 300ft vertically up to the surface.
A tripod rope system was set up at the surface to winch the woman up with the doctor, which took around 30 minutes.
The woman was taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital by land ambulance for further assessment and treatment.
The rescue operation took six and a half hours.
