incident at Rattlesnake Cave

Date
22nd Aug 1983
Publication
ACA 1983 p. 354
Cave
Rattlesnake Cave
State
Tennessee
County
Wilson
Country
United States of America
Category
Cave
Incident type
Illness
Group type
Unknown
Group size
Unknown
Aid type
Unknown
Source
Unknown
Incident flags

Injured cavers

No injured cavers recorded.

Incident report

On August 22, 1983 a group of cavers entered Rattlesnake Cave in Wilson County, Tennessee. After some time, one caver (20-30) began to experience chest pains. This was thought to be heart trouble so the victim, still in the cave, was given oxygen for a period of time. The local Civil Defense called in Nashville Grotto Rescue. The evacuation was carried out without incident.

Incident analysis

Apparently there was no actual heart attack, but how is one to know? One of the group was an EMT and was unable to diagnose correctly. Probably better to be safe and assume the worst. The victim was reportedly in very poor physical condition prior to the incident.

Summary

A caver experienced chest pains in Rattlesnake Cave, and was evacuated; it was not an actual heart attack.

References

  1. Jim Lawrence NSS Accident Report Nov, 1983.
  2. Jim Lawrence Personal Communication Jan 29, 1984.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC. The data was processed and input using AI.