On January 6, 2023, a group of cavers in the Mátyás Cave did not come out of the cave at the scheduled time, so the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service was alerted by the cavers' surface dispatchers.
The first group of the Rescue Service arrived at the cave in about half an hour, just as the caving group surfaced, safe and unharmed. They reported that they had had to take extra rests due to exhaustion and fatigue, and then proceeded slowly outwards, which meant that they did not surface at the previously agreed time.
Following the above, we moved back to base. All cave tours have surface assistance as there is no cell phone service in the cave. It is the job of the surface attendants to alert the rescue service if the group does not arrive on time.
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service will continue to be on standby 24 hours a day and will be on the spot if an alarm is received. It does all this as a voluntary organisation, without any compensation.
Photo by András Hegedűs (Mátyás Cave, Giant's Passage)