incident at Lemon Hole Cave

Date
8th Jan 1983
Publication
ACA 1983 p. 349
Cave
Lemon Hole Cave
State
Pennsylvania
County
Unknown
Country
United States of America
Category
Cave
Incident type
Rockfall
Group type
Unknown
Group size
3
Aid type
Unknown
Source
Unknown
Incident flags
   

Injured cavers

Name Age Sex Injuries Injured areas
Dougherty, Paul 31 Not recorded Not recorded Not recorded

Incident report

On Saturday, January 8, Paul Dougherty (31) and two companions entered Lemon Hole Cave near Latrobe, Pennsylvania. At about noon, and at a point about 40 feet vertically and 175 feet horizontally from the entrance, Dougherty was pinned by the fall of a large rock. His companions summoned help and volunteers from fire and rescue units as well as mine rescue personnel worked for seven hours to free the victim. Dougherty suffered a broken arm and shoulder and rib injuries.

Incident analysis

This was the victim's first caving trip. It is possible that he did not exercise due caution in the back part of the cave which reportedly is an 18 inch crawlway with loose rock.

Summary

First-time caver pinned by rockfall, sustained injuries, rescued after seven hours.

References

  1. Ed. '100 Workers Free City Man from Cave' Pittsburgh Press Sunday, Jan 9, 1983 B-4.
  2. AP 'Spelunker Hurt in Rock-fall' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jan 10, 1983 p 5.
  3. Bruce Randall Personal Communication Jan 20, 1983
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC. The data was processed and input using AI.