March 2024 is the month of caves. This afternoon, as part of the Month of Caves series of events in the Danube-Ipoly National Park, I (A. Hegedűs) planned to give a presentation about our rescue mission in Turkey last autumn.

Shortly before the programme, the BMSz (Hungarian Cave Rescue Service) Hotline received an alarm that a caver had taken a bad step and dislocated his ankle at "Globe Hall" in the Mátyás Cave. As there were still two hours before the lecture, I thought I could usefully help with the rescue during the first hour and a half, so after a few seconds of thought I headed for the cave.

With the cave rescuers nearby, we arrived on the scene shortly after the alarm was raised and the rescue began. The four of us were the first to descend into the cave with the medical team (2 doctors, a paramedic and an assistant), with the medical equipment needed to treat the injured.

UPDATE: September 11, 2023 11:38 p.m

THE STRETCHER WITH MARK HAS REACHED THE SURFACE
After 58.5 hours of hard work  with the participation of nearly 200 rescuers on the spot and with the help of almost as many background supporters from 10 countries, in frame of a huge international cooperation as one team, we managed to transport Mark up to the surface from the depth of 1040 m. Details coming soon.

In this caverescue operation participated the members of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service and the Bakony Cave Rescue Service from Hungary.

UPDATE: September 11, 2023 3:26 p.m

 The stretcher with Mark is on level -150m!

On the afternoon of 28^th of August 2023, the Bakonyi Cave Rescue Service started a cave rescue mission.

Caves are not only natural values that must be protected due to their non-renewable formations or fragile ecological balance, but they can also hide valuable archaeological sites, which can open a window to the world of the bygone past for knowledgeable specialists. A few months ago, the researchers of the Csodabogyós cave at Balatonederic discovered some unexpected interesting findings. They found unusual remains of bones and teeth in the debris near the entrance of the cave. The cave explorers invited paleontologists, geologists and archaeologists to the cave, who began the methodical and scientific exploration of the site, hoping to learn more about the small vertebrates that lived in the Miocene age.

Yesterday, during the field work in the cave, a member of the MTA-MTM Paleontological Research Group fell ill. Late in the afternoon, during the work underground, a lady researcher suddenly fell ill and - although the she was near the entrance - it seemed clear that she would not be able to leave the cave without assistance.

On July 8, 2023, Dr. B.I., 73, was hiking in the Pilis with his wife and friends near Dobogókő on the Thirring trail. Shortly after 16.00 h, he stepped into a pit on the hiking trail and twisted his ankle, hurt himself and could not stand.

His family members alerted the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service (BMSz) on the basis of an alert sticker seen on Dobogókő. One group of our cave rescuers went from the warehouse with rescue equipment to the scene, another group went straight to Dobogókő.

AFrom the car park, it is possible to reach the site, which is located at the foot of the Thirring cliffs, under vertical walls, by walking a kilometre through the forest, descending 100 metres in the meantime.

The first team with the BMSz doctor arrived at the site shortly after 18h00 and started treating the injured.

The injured limb was secured and the man was placed in a special cave rescue stretcher - a suitable way to transport the patient in difficult terrain. While the injured man was being treated, the rest of the rescue team started to set up the ropeways for the transport.

At 19:09, the transport of the casualty began, with the decision of the team leader to use rope techniques to transport the casualty over the steep, forest terrain between large rocks. After overcoming a 100-metre difference in elevation, the stretcher was transported on the tourist road on the upper, almost horizontal section to the car park.