Rescuers with Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service work to lift a fallen caver out of Sausage Cave in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area.
Near the end of the rescue effort, rescuers with Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service bring the fallen caver safely above ground in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area.Training for the Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Cave/Cliff Service became hands-on Thursday afternoon.
Rescue team members were in the midst of a routine training session in Chattanooga when Capt. Brad Tipton received a call asking for the team's assistance in a cave rescue in the Savage Gulf State Natural Area.
More than 30 members of the team spent over eight hours in Sausage Cave rescuing a local caver, Nathaniel Mann, 59, of Viola, Tenn.
Mann is well-known in the area for being a very experienced caver, Tipton said. But on this outing, he slipped in mud and fell 10 feet while traversing a small canyon. The site of the fall was approximately 200 vertical feet down and about 500 feet from the cave entrance, Tipton said.
The fall occurred about 2 p.m. and it took the two experienced cavers with Mann until 4:30 p.m. that the two experienced cavers with him were able to reach cell service and call Grundy County 911. The cave team got the word about 6:30 p.m. and was inside the cave by 9:30 p.m., according to Tipton.
Mann had hip and pelvic injuries, according to a news release. More than 30 rescuers worked until 4:30 a.m. Friday to get him out of the cave. He was then transported in stable condition to a local hospital, according to Grundy County EMS.
"We had good resources and a lot of manpower and were able to get him out relatively fast," Tipton said. "A lot of rock removal was required, which made the rescue take that long."
Tipton said that the mood in the cave remained calm. "Experienced cavers, like these people, know that cave rescues take a long time and they don't have expectations about how quickly the rescue will take place."
The Cave/Cliff Rescue Service comprises 38 volunteer cave rescuers; a dozen of them are medically certified cavers, and there are also multiple paramedics and one ER doctor on the team. They have traveled as far as New Mexico for a rescue, and complete three to four rescues a year, according to Tipton.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.