| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viens, Peter | 14 | Male | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On 11 January a group of 31 men, women and children from Massachusetts, including both experienced and novice cavers, visited Knox Cave.
Eighteen of the group went through the "gunbarrel" (a keyhole passage about 18 inches in diameter and 60 feet long) to visit the wild sections of this once commercial cave. Later some of the others also crawled through the "gunbarrel" but not finding the first group returned. The last of these, Peter Viens (14), was within 8 feet of coming out of the crawl when his knee and leg became wedged in the narrow floor crevice. This was at about 1:30 p.m.
Efforts were made to free Viens from both sides but because he complained when an attempt was made to forcibly remove his leg from the crevice outside help was sought. The Police and Fire Department were summoned and freed the boy at about 8:30 p.m. He was not injured.
Source: Newspaper clipping. Paul Dower.
Analysis: Although no one was injured, 18 of the group were trapped behind Viens for seven hours. The possibility of further injury to others, exposure hazard in the low cave temperature, or panic, make this incident worth reporting. Viens was presumed trapped because of inexperience, fright and being overweight. See the 1967 reports for other incidents in Knox Cave.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.