| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwitzgebel, Jorg | 14 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, four cavers entered Dead Dog Cave near the Steck Avenue and Balcones Drive intersection in Northwest Austin. These were Jorg Schwitzgebel (14), Richard (12) and John (14) Fant, and a fourth caver (25). The cave begins as a 4-foot diameter hole dropping 20 feet to a room. A short, narrow crawlway descends to more cave. The fourth caver was left in this room and the others explored further. Schwitzgebel had been in the cave three times previously.
At about 8:30 p.m. they were on their way out, with Schwitzgebel in the lead. As he negotiated the 2-foot wide crawl leading to the entrance room he was trapped as portions of the crawl suddenly collapsed, pinning his legs below the hips. The 25-year-old went for help, apparently stopping a truck driver who dug for a bit at the collapse, then stopped another driver who called the police on his CB.
A crew of firemen and local cavers dug carefully at the collapse for hours. Schwitzgebel was freed at 12:30 a.m. Thursday.
Analysis: The cave-in was perhaps due to nearby road construction involving blasting. The cavers were lucky that no collapse involved their heads as they were not wearing hard hats.
Austin American-Statesman 7/6/78. Ibid. 7/6/78.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.