Twelve people, including eight teenagers, were dramatically rescued after becoming trapped underground during a potholing expedition.
The group, from Oldham-based charity Groundwork were stranded in a cave for five hours with rising water levels which made it impossible for them to escape.
A massive rescue operation was launched at 1pm yesterday but the party couldn’t be rescued until after 6pm when the water levels dropped.
Those stranded included two Groundwork leaders, two caving instructors and the group of youngsters aged 16-20. They were on a week-long trip to Ingleton, North Yorkshire, organised by the Prince’s Trust.
The youth charity, which says the health and safety of its young people is paramount, has now pledged to carry out a review of what happened.
Dave Gallivan, from the Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO), led the group to safety from Lower Long Churn Cave – just minutes before the waters rose again. They were cold and wet but otherwise unhurt after their ordeal.
Mr Gallivan said: "We found the youngsters in one of the only dry places in the system. They were obviously extremely pleased to see us.
"If we had not got the group out at that moment we could have all been trapped inside. It was a very lucky escape for everyone."
The well-known beauty spot is used by hundreds of potholers every year. Part of the 800m long Alum Pot cave system, it is often used by schoolchildren on outdoor adventure trips and is considered to be a ‘beginners cave’.
But heavy rain can cause flash floods and in 2007 two people drowned there after being overcome by rising water. Mr Gallivan said the area has suffered heavy rain in the past few days.
He said: "I was surprised to find two experienced caving instructors in the group. It was a massive error of judgement to go in to this cave system considering the weather."
Another team of potholers spotted the group entering the caves and called police.
They scrambled a team of 26 volunteers from the CRO and a team from Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue. An air ambulance was also on standby.
A spokeswoman for the Prince’s Trust said: "The health and safety of our young people is paramount in all of our programmes and we work with trained professionals to run our outdoor activities.
"We are pleased that all of the young people have returned safe and well but we are reviewing this situation to ensure every aspect of the planning and delivery of the programme meets with the very high standards we demand."
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you are stupid going caving in wet weather as flash flood have killed
why do we contantly get these stories of people getting trapped in underground passages when it is piddling it down outside,
Does water not run downhill, send the organisers the bill for the recue.
To bigyin18 and joe egg; it is not stupid going caving in wet weather if a suitable cave is chosen (in this instance it was not best suited based on the forecast, so questions obviously need asking as to why this cave was chosen and stuck too, despite the forecast) and we do not "constantly get" such stories - there's only ever about 30 (give or take a few) incidents across the country per year and only a small percentage of them are flooding related. As for the bill, the majority of work is undertaken by volunteers and if we start charging for police/ambulance time then surely the same would apply to numerous other organised activities (and binge-drinking etc etc) hardly a realistic or viable option.
When do we ever get constant stories like this??..The last 'flooding incident' was reported well over 12 months ago in the press.Yes, The CRO does attend about 80 call outs a year but the vast majority are above ground fell (and waterfalls walk) rescue's and animal related incidents.
As pointed out the CRO and other Mountain rescue services are Charity funded and run on a purely voluntary basis....I would like to think the rescuees will be handing over a decent donation.
Deaths and serious accidents underground are a few and far between...unlike other 'pursuits' that folk partake in every weekend. So if yer gonna comment on something you nothing about at least make sure its a well informed comment.
People defending the notion of ill equipped and badly led groups ,who choose to ignore all the weather warnings deserve to be slagged off. The same would apply to other groups ,walking or climbing on the moors/mountainous areas etc. where the end results have not always had a happy ending.
These incidents not only endanger or lose the lives of the participants,but also apply to the brave volunteers who attempt to rescue them.
Is it not time that trips like this should apply in advance for scrutiny ,so that the leaders and suitability of the expeditions could be judged and have to comply with standards and weather warnings etc, ?
These social worker type expeditions by amateurs and school teachers should be vetted and approved in advance,otherwise lives are at risk. The question of whether payment should be made for their rescue is a debateable point,but it would NOT be without prescedent eg. cars impounded and owners having to pay costs and storage etc,,,
Lastly taking the example of cars,they are not putting lives at risk ,either themselves or the rescuers( for want of a better word) of recovering the vehicles.