UK’s longest cave rescue: 300 people refused to leave him - Lives Less Ordinary, BBC World Service

For George Linnane, an experienced caver from England, being underground is his happy place, somewhere he can feel calm away from the chaos of daily life. But when he and two friends set out for a routine trip in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system in Wales one Saturday lunchtime in November 2021, they couldn't know it would turn into a nightmare. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM After a stone bridge gave way underneath him, George fell ten metres onto solid rock and couldn't move. He suffered a broken leg, shattered jaw, a punctured lung and spleen and was drifting in and out of consciousness. When news of his predicament got out, 300 extraordinary volunteers from around the UK mobilised and came to his rescue. Thanks to the quick thinking and skill of his friends and the hundreds of fellow cavers who rushed to his aid, George counts himself very lucky to be alive. His remarkable true story became the longest cave rescue in UK history, taking a mammoth 54 hours to bring him back to the surface. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Edgar Maddicott Video Producer: Beatrice Guzzardi Photo credit: Mark Burkey 00:00 Coming up in this episode 00:13 Introduction 00:56 The passion for caving and scuba diving 02:15 Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system 03:16 The trip to the cave 06:16 The accident 09:46 Fighting to stay alive and awake 12:58 Other cavers arrive to rescue 14:52 What kept him going 19:18 Realising how many people arrived to rescue 20:17 How they got him out 25:46 Getting to the surface 26:45 Recovering and going back to caving 29:22 Outro Watch more from Lives Less Ordinary on our YouTube playlist 👉🏽 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4fxldjnO2SAJ-Lg-owG7RR_&si=sw23069eN__UaEmf ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService