Rescue operation in the giant thing shaft cave

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Stages of the rescue operation, cross-section of the cave
Tent city of the rescue workers at the cave entrance on the Untersberg

During the rescue operation in the giant thing shaft cave , the cave researcher Johann Westhauser was rescued from the giant thing shaft cave in June 2014 .

Westhauser has been researching the cave, discovered in 1996, since 2002. He is one of the most experienced cave explorers in Germany.

Accident event

Transport of the injured person inside the cave
Injured care in the cave

Westhauser and two other cave explorers entered the cave at noon on Saturday, June 7, 2014, which is considered "from the first meter [...] technically demanding shaft and water cave". On Sunday, June 8, 2014 at around 1:30 a.m. (CEST), Westhauser was seriously injured in the head in a rock fall at a depth of around 1000 meters . He suffered a traumatic brain injury and a broken cheekbone . His helmet was only slightly damaged.

One of his companions stayed with Westhauser after the first aid and storage of the injured person in the cave, while the other companion left to get help. There is neither radio nor mobile phone reception in the mountain. After a twelve hour climb (about six kilometers), the alarming companion reached the cave entrance and was able to start the rescue operation from there.

Rescue operation

The winch with which Westhauser was saved in the last section
The rescuers bring Westhauser to the helicopter

The rescue turned out to be extremely difficult because of the complex cave structure. After several cave rescuers had already reached and treated the injured, a doctor arrived at the scene of the accident on the evening of June 11th. On Friday, June 13, 2014, the protracted removal of the injured person began, who was difficult due to the injury and the complicated cave structure. Westhauser's condition stabilized in the days of action to such an extent that he was able to get up briefly and take part in the rescue. A particular challenge was to avoid a rescue collapse during the complicated recovery. During the rescue, Westhauser was strapped to a stretcher and therefore had to be pulled up with muscle power on the 200 meter high, narrow and winding shaft at the cave entrance. On Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 11:44 am, the rescue operation was successfully completed with Westhauser's arrival on the surface. The vertical chimneys inside the cave were mastered by rescuers lowering themselves as counterweights, and for the last part with a manually operated winch installed above the cave entrance. An emergency station was set up in the mountains for the subsequent care, and Westhauser was then flown to the Murnau Accident Clinic .

For the rescue, the paths in the cave had to be secured with fixed ropes , bolts and stepping pins. A Cave-Link system (with a redundant second system) was used for communication and a cable for a telephone was laid. In the meantime there were up to 60 people in the cave and up to 90 percent of the cave rescue equipment of the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service was installed in the cave. Caring for the injured and the cave rescuers posed a challenge. For safety reasons, each cave rescuer could only take one so-called waterproof sanding bag with him in order to minimize the risk of moving loose stones. In each case there were about ten kilograms of self-sufficiency material and ten kilograms of other material (food and supplies for other helpers, safety and rescue material). Larger rocks at risk of falling had to be secured with construction foam .

A material store, an emergency medical supply station and an emergency shelter for the emergency services were set up at the cave entrance; A provisional landing pad for helicopters was built in the vicinity of the cave entrance. The situation and press center was set up by the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service at the Berchtesgaden fire brigade, the camp for the emergency services and the helicopter landing pad were located in the Bundeswehr's hunter barracks in Bischofswiesen-Strub near Berchtesgaden. A total of 728 helpers were deployed, of which 202 rescuers from five nations were in the cave: 89 Italians, 42 Austrians, 27 Germans, 24 Swiss and 20 Croatians. The Croatian cave rescuers were requested by the operations management to take over the security of the helpers in the cave. Two Swiss, Rolf Scheurer and Andy Siegenthaler, both from Spéléo Secours , managed the underground operation from Berchtesgaden.

The rescue operation, which was referred to as the "Chapter of Alpine Rescue History", received international reports. Memories were awakened of the spectacular rescue of Claudio Cortis from the north face of the Eiger in 1957 , also organized in international cooperation . But the rescue from the giant thing cave far exceeded the effort of international cooperation.

In August 2015, the cost of the rescue operation was put at around 960,000 euros.

aftermath

The cave entrance was closed on June 27, 2014 to avoid danger from and for disaster tourists. Individual permits are granted for access if there is a “legitimate interest” and if both physically and professionally qualified.

The helicopter operations of the Bavarian police were not invoiced because there was no intent or gross negligence.

The material that was initially left in the cave was removed in the autumn months between August and October, when there was little rainfall. Some of the equipment was deposited in the existing bivouacs for future cave passages.

literature

  • Stephan Kempe : Why cave exploration? A look back at the accident in the giant thing . Announcements of the Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers, vol. 60 (2014), issue 3, pp. 68–69.
  • Ulrich Meyer: The huge thing in Untersberg . Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Höhlenforschung Bad Cannstatt eV (Ed.), Bad Cannstatt 2015, Chapter 8: The Accident and Rescue,  pp. 52–60.
  • Lars Abromeit (text), Mattia Balsamini (photos), Jonas Lauströer and Matthew Rangel (illustrations): The rescue . GEO , July 2019, pp. 48-80 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Giant Thing Manhole Cave  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Medical treatment top priority . In: orf.at , June 11, 2014.
  2. ↑ Karin Truscheit: Unlucky cave explorer Johann Westhauser. Physically fit and mentally resilient. In: FAZ.NET , June 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b Cave Rescue Operation “Giant Thing” - Chronology ( Memento from July 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), German Red Cross .
  4. ↑ Getting to the bottom of the "huge thing" , interview with Florian Schwarz. Berchtesgadener Anzeiger , May 14, 2014.
  5. ↑ Accidental researcher Johann Westhauser: Rescue operation after cave drama is dragging on . In: FAZ.NET , June 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Cave rescue mission “Giant Thing” - Day 1. Mountain Rescue Bavaria, June 8, 2014, archived from the original on June 12, 2014 ; Retrieved August 4, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Big thing cave: Cave drama: Surgeon wants to operate at a depth of 1000 meters if necessary . In: Augsburger Allgemeine , June 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ a b c Lars Abromeit (text): "The rescue". In GEO , issue July 2019.
  9. ↑ a b c d e ( page no longer available , search in web archives: international cave rescue operation ), Bergwacht Bayern , June 25, 2014.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bergwacht-bayern.de
  10. ↑ Rescue becomes a test of patience ( memento from June 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), BR-online , June 8, 2014.
  11. ↑ Trapped at a depth of 1000 meters: Seriously injured man is stuck in a giant thing cave . In: FAZ.NET , June 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ Alps: Seriously injured man is stuck at a depth of 1000 meters . Süddeutsche.de, June 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ Stephanie Lahrtz: A doctor reaches the injured: Speleologist suffered a traumatic brain injury . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , June 11, 2014.
  14. ↑ Roland Ampenberger: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: First route covered during patient transport in the giant thing shaft cave ). Bavarian Red Cross, Berchtesgaden District Association, June 14, 2014.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kvberchtesgaden.brk.de
  15. ↑ Bergwacht Bayern: Injured researcher rescued from the giant thing cave . Die Welt , June 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ a b Drama about injured cave explorers: This is how the rescue should work . In: Augsburger Allgemeine , June 14, 2014.
  17. ↑ Markus Leitner: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Complex supply network for rescue workers in the giant thing shaft cave ). Bavarian Red Cross, Berchtesgaden District Association, June 14, 2014.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kvberchtesgaden.brk.de
  18. ↑ Rescue of the injured cave explorer. The first stage is done . In: swr.de , June 13, 2014.
  19. ^ After five days of transport back: Researcher Westhauser has been rescued from the giant thing shaft cave , ingenieur.de, June 20, 2014.
  20. ↑ Untersberg - mountain hunters support cave rescue ( memento from July 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), deutschesheer.de, June 17, 2014.
  21. ^ A b c Stephanie Geiger: After researcher misfortune: Bavaria's interior minister wants to close giant things cave . In: FAZ.NET , June 18, 2014.
  22. ↑ Germania, speleologo intrappolato a mille metri sotto terra . Corriere della Sera , June 12, 2014.
  23. ↑ Une opération d'envergure pour secourir un spéléologue allemand . Le Figaro , June 10, 2014.
  24. ^ German cave rescue of Johann Westhauser under way . BBC , June 16, 2014.
  25. ↑ German cave rescue of Johann Westhauser can begin, doctors say . CBC news , June 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ Big thing drama: Rescuing cave explorers cost almost a million euros. Retrieved August 22, 2015 .
  27. ↑ Entrance closed with a steel grid ( memento from December 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Bayerischer Rundfunk, June 28, 2014, accessed on June 29, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Big thing" is closed . Berchtesgadener Anzeiger , June 20, 2014.
  29. ↑ Researcher does not have to pay helicopter rescue , sueddeutsche.de , July 7, 2014.
  30. ↑ Material recovered from the giant thing cave after rescue , heimatzeitung.de, December 2, 2014.