This article is from page 3 of the 2008-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
SIX amateur cavers from Northern Ireland narrowly avoided disaster this weekend when they became trapped in a pothole more than 140ft under Slieve Elva in north Clare. The group, which was made up of four men and two women, became trapped in the Poul Elva pothole just north of Lisdoonvarna on Satur- day afternoon. After spending more than five hours trapped in the dark, two members of the group managed
to abseil to the surface and raise the “IE IwOOe
A 35-strong rescue team, includ- ing members of the Doolin branch of the Irish Coast Guard, Ennistymon Gardai, the Irish Cave Rescue Or- ganisation and two ambulances, took part in a mammoth six-hour-long rescue for the remaining cavers, who were all brought to the surface in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Following the rescue, questions have been raised about the suitability of the equipment used by the group.
‘The group who abseiled down into this pothole really didn’t seem to be very experienced for the type of task they were getting involved in. Their gear didn’t reflect the task. The way they were kitted out and their per- sonal protection gear wasn’t good enough; it was sub-standard. They really weren’t prepared enough for what they were trying to do,” said a spokesman for Doolin Coast Guard.
‘The guy who was leading the group had been down that pothole once or twice but the rest of the group were
really out of their depth.”
Two members of the group were brought to Ennis hospital suffering from dehydration and hypothermia but the rest were released at the scene following a medical examination.
“The cave is located at the base of the mountain, just off a road that connects the lLisdoonvarna/Bally- vaughan Road to Fanore. It’s part of the largest cave structure in Ireland in the Poll na Gollum,” continued the spokesman.
“They were in a very deep hole.
The pothole is about 140 ft deep and they had been stuck in it since 1.30 in the afternoon. It might have been quite mild above the surface yes- terday but that cave system is more than 12 kilometres long and there is a massive draft in it.
“As well as that, one of the entranc- es into the Poul Elva pothole is an underground waterfall so they were all soaked with all the water that was flying around the place down there. The waterfall itself would also create an extra draft.”