Man freed after spending Saturday night trapped

Because where the man wedged was relatively close to the cave entrance, paramedics were able to give the trapped man water and snacks.

“When people get stuck in a sleeve, they tend to tense up a lot and it is hard to get through, [we were trying to] get him to loosen up and bend a bit more to get through,” Warild said.

Rescuers also used a tool called a plug and feather, which was wedged into the rock and caused it to crack.

NSW Cave Rescue Squad president Brian Evans described the environment faced as like “bushwalking over very rocky terrain, but you can’t stand up”.

“You’re wriggling, crawling over things, twisting around things. … there are stalagmites or columns, you’re constantly wriggling rather than walking,” Evans said.

He said cave rescues are rare, but require a specialist skill set, and people who are used to moving quickly and effectively in complex and difficult cave environments.

Oberon State Emergency Service member Craig Gibbons, who also assisted with the rescue, said they drilled small holes and chiselled some of the rock wall away before the man walked free from the cave about 4.45am.

“Once we got the man free, we handed him and the female over to paramedics, and it was great to see them both walk away from the scene safe and well, despite it taking many hours to get him free,” Gibbons said.

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Gibbons has been a member of the NSW SES for 30 years and has conducted numerous cave rescues – but this was the first one in such a narrow cave.

“About a dozen or so have been in areas known as show caves, which are more accessible,” he said.

“This was my first rescue in the adventure caves – which are more dangerous as they’re in much tighter areas that are difficult to access. We need to be very fit and do a lot of caving and canyoning to build our experience,” he said.