A MAJOR 999 operation resulted in two men – both inexperienced cavers – being rescued from a deep mine shaft in upper Teesdale today.
Crews from the fire brigade, fell rescue, ambulance service and the Great North Air Ambulance were called to Coldberry Level, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, this afternoon
Two men, from County Durham, had walked into an old mine and used a rope to go down a deep shaft. But they were unable to get back out when the wall started crumbling.
A resident, who alerted the emergency services, said a “young lad” rang his doorbell to say his dad and one other person had gone down on a rope.
He said: “The mine shaft is on a level and you can wade into the water. They are only amateurs, not expert cavers.
“It seems they have waded in and seen the shaft that goes down and dropped down to a lower level but can’t get back out.”
The pair, both inexperienced cavers, were rescued by 999 crews several hours later. They were uninjured.
At one time, 14 emergency vehicles were at the scene including caving experts from Cumbria.
Full story, interviews and photos in next week’s paper.
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