Rescue efforts called off...

[acidman1968]

Rescue ends for man in abandoned mine shaft...

RENO, Nev. – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says a rescue has been called off for a 28-year-old man who fell in an abandoned mine shaft in northern Nevada.

BLM spokeswoman JoLynn Worley says the Battle Mountain man fell Wednesday afternoon in the shaft in Jersey Valley, about 160 miles northeast of Reno. His name wasn't immediately released.

Worley says rescuers tried to reach the man, who's about 190 feet below ground.

But she says the rescue was halted Friday because of the hazardous, dangerous conditions it posed to rescuers. She says the mine is so unstable that walls crumbled and rocks hit rescuers on the head when they tried to reach the man.

A video camera showed the man was still breathing early Friday, even though he has suffered serious head injuries.

Sorry to hear that a mine explorer has suffered this fate.

...and of course, the BLM will use this relentlessly in their pursuit to close more mines.

[acidman1968]

Here's another article from the Reno Gazette Journal with a little more information:

Reno Gazette Journal

A video camera determined the man was still breathing after plunging 190 feet into the shaft on Wednesday in Jersey Valley, northeast of Reno.
A priest had given last rites.

The name of the 28-year-old man from Battle Mountain wasn’t immediately released.
The video camera showed the man was breathing but not moving and had suffered serious head injuries. Images taken Thursday night revealed he had been moving his hands.

Authorities intended to keep monitoring the mine shaft until the man stopped breathing, Worley said.

It's a sad situation for the victim and the victim's family - who are apparently at the site.

Oh, and reading the comments after the article is also interesting, nauseating (from the ignorant posts).

[Therrin]

It didn't sound like he was a mine explorer. Some kind of a research analyst who went over to the mine during his time off and fell in.

That's rough though, that the rescuers can't get in to get at him because "it's too dangerous" but they can get a camera down to him.

Makes you wonder if different rescuers on-site would have a different feeling of the situation.

[Stuart]

mine rescue

After studying the situation, making a few calls, and finding out as much information as I can, I have come to the conclusion that if we were called sooner we would have been able to get him out. With our winch and other specialized equipment designed specifically for this type of work, not to mention the experience of dropping literally hundreds of shafts in the same condition, I think we could have done it.

I'm going to see if they can use us to do a body recovery. Hopefully they call back instead of just sealing up the shaft.

PS: If I ever fall down in a shaft PLEASE don't call the authorities, call Mojave Underground.

[acidman1968]

Re: mine rescue

After studying the situation, making a few calls, and finding out as much information as I can, I have come to the conclusion that if we were called sooner we would have been able to get him out. With our winch and other specialized equipment designed specifically for this type of work, not to mention the experience of dropping literally hundreds of shafts in the same condition, I think we could have done it.

I'm going to see if they can use us to do a body recovery. Hopefully they call back instead of just sealing up the shaft.

PS: If I ever fall down in a shaft PLEASE don't call the authorities, call Mojave Underground.

I thought that as soon as I read the article... Granted, I've never met you - but seeing your winch in action in your videos, and seeing how you were able to retrieve an ore cart from a vertical shaft, I thought your group would have been able to drop straight down the middle of the shaft instead of rappelling down the side and knocking debris loose.

Hell Stuart, in the article it specifically stated that this morning the man was still breathing. Who knows how long it'll take before he dies of dehydration or complications of his injuries...

[Joanne]

I was a member of search and rescue for a number of years in Arizona. We practiced high-angle rescues, but never cave/mine rescues. It goes without saying that underground rescue is a whole different situation. I feel really bad for his family.

Joanne

[Stuart]

I can imagine how events will unfold at this point and I don't like it. I am working now to contact the family and offer our services before the "authorities" seal up the mine and leave him down there. I'd like a shot at it ASAP. This situation is eerily similar to two other situations that have occurred just like this in Utah.

[MinerDan]

Hey guys, Dan here from abandonedmines.net I agree this is BS!! You guys coulda saved him, the rescuers were probably scared of the mine. Many search and rescue folks have a stigma about mines and will not go near them. Bob is certified Search and Rescue from our groupa nd he is trying to get the teams comfurtable with the mines, for some reason it has a bad stigma and scares them.

Im sure we ourselves could had made a difference, what a tragedy. When I read about this the first place i came was here as I was worried it may had been one of you guys, thankfully not. Still Im upset, i think the state failed.

[Therrin]

Mike S. and I were having this conversation, a month or so ago. I explained that it's best to call local rescue sources FIRST, even if you call 911 afterwards; whereas he thought just calling 911 was the best solution.

Our EMT instructor explained how the operators don't always either understand the situation, or call out the right people and equipment first. And that you can save a lot of time getting qualified rescuers on-site by calling "whoever you know" to get the ball rolling without just counting on 911 to get the best resource for you.

[bergdh]

Re: mine rescue

PS: If I ever fall down in a shaft PLEASE don't call the authorities, call Mojave Underground.

I dont know if its already been thrown around, but we need a procedure in place for this. Cause I am in the same mindset. Id rather die unknown to the world then to have my death used as fire to the mans plan to destroy access to those who have love for this great passion we share.

[acidman1968]

Hey guys, Dan here from abandonedmines.net I agree this is BS!! You guys coulda saved him, the rescuers were probably scared of the mine. Many search and rescue folks have a stigma about mines and will not go near them. Bob is certified Search and Rescue from our groupa nd he is trying to get the teams comfurtable with the mines, for some reason it has a bad stigma and scares them.

Im sure we ourselves could had made a difference, what a tragedy. When I read about this the first place i came was here as I was worried it may had been one of you guys, thankfully not. Still Im upset, i think the state failed.

Go to the article I referenced earlier from the Reno Gazette Journal and read through the comments - pay particular attention to a poster by the name of "garand_man" - apparently, he was actually one of the rescuers who was there at the mine site for three days... His posts are quite insightful of what actually went on there.

[ExpUt]

...Go to the article I referenced earlier from the Reno Gazette Journal and read through the comments - pay particular attention to a poster by the name of "garand_man" - apparently, he was actually one of the rescuers who was there at the mine site for three days... His posts are quite insightful of what actually went on there.

Copy paste of his details of the rescue attempt:

"Seeing as how RGJ can't report a story worth anything, here's a real glimpse from myself, Someone who was there seeing as how the press got lost and went to an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT VALLEY and never made it to the site. After what myself, and all the rescue crewmembers have been through, the family, the co-workers of the man who got stuck, and the community at large both local, statewide, and federal(military) who came together for 3 days without hardly any rest, working diligently to find some type of hope, it stung a little. Aside from that, try going to a reported "death" and then finding the man alive, but having NO WAY to reach him without greater harm to himself or others. I've seen a lot, but never had anything effect me like this. His family was there waiting to see a body, and instead had to experience his death twice.

The accident was reported to all involved as a fatality. From the 1st day, the retrieval efforts were amazing, 2 counties, state officials, federal officials, and one of the best mine rescue teams in the world responded ASAP, to participate in the retrieval efforts. The family, along with 24 other rescue team members were on site. A camera was sent down the first day, it is a vertical shaft that had caved in at some points, sloughed down at others, and had been built in 1880, so you can imagine how stable it was. The first camera was damaged, and a member of mine rescue entered the mine to attempt to find the man. Light sticks were dropped, and the mans was called to with no luck or response. The shaft was so unstable that mine rescue was afraid if they entered any further that the shaft would collapse completely, and possibly kill a team member, or in the case of the man still being alive, kill him.

On day 2, a second camera was brought to the site. The retrieval efforts continued, amidst immense issues with power supplies, and getting the camera through the shaft the 186.3 feet down where the man was. I remember vividly, and have not slept since the moment we found him, and it haunts me now. The camera bumped the man's hand, and we saw it move slightly, and then saw his chest moving slightly. It was evident he had broken ribs, and his hand/arm were fractured in multiple locations. He did not respond to the camera arriving on site, but I remember the entire site went quiet. You could not here a word for 20-30 seconds, and then somebody whispered, "He’s still alive". Then the father collapsed, and everybody scrambled to get into a rescue mindset instead of a retrieval mindset. We called to him, sent a 2 way radio down the shaft to try and talk to him, but he would not respond.

He did not react to anything sent to him. The mine rescue team could not reach the man. Who was under continuous monitoring until he passed. The U.S. Navy sent a special response team who are trained for such events. They descended to within 30 feet of the man when he stopped breathing. The Navy could not continue for their safety.

If you want to point fingers, blame, and anger at anyone. Blame the RGJ, KOLO, and any other reporters/writers/journals/periodicals, who reported the story without the real facts. Fact is you don't know the lay out, you don’t know the access; you don’t know the stability of the area.

The men and woman of the SAR/Sheriff depts. /Military, and anyone who was there deserve a hand shake, a hug, at least a prayer. They are hero's they cared about this man they'd never met like he was a brother, and their hearts are shattered. My heart goes out to the family, and everyone who feels so helpless like me today. It isn't going away anytime soon."

[acidman1968]

Another article - and Core is quoted in this one:

Nevada mine death: Questions on called-off rescue...

RENO, Nev. – A father of five plunges deep into an abandoned mine shaft. Nearly 200 feet down, video images show he is injured but still breathing, trapped by debris.

The century-old shaft, though, is extremely unstable, its walls crumbling. As one rescuer tries to descend to reach the man, he is hit by a large rock, which splits his hard-hat. Other efforts yield more falling rocks and clear evidence: This is going to be a dangerous mission — maybe too dangerous.

The scenario unfolded underneath Nevada last week, when rescue teams were told to stand down in their bid to reach 28-year-old Devin Westenskow, even as they had evidence he was still alive.

But the ethical questions are more universal: How do you balance the desire to save a human being in peril with the equally important priority of keeping emergency workers safe and alive to rescue another day?

"You're playing God in a sense," said Rob McGee, secretary-treasurer of the United States Mine Rescue Association.

McGee said he can't recall a mine rescue operation that was halted while someone was still alive. But, he noted, a rescue gone awry compounds such a tragedy, adding another layer of grief. Only officials on the ground can know how best to proceed, he said.

"Whoever made the call in Nevada I'm sure they're hearing it from both ends because there's always someone who's saying, 'No, don't give up,'" McGee said.

Indeed, family members of Westenskow praised rescuers for their efforts and, in a joint statement, said they understood when told early Friday of the decision to call off the rescue effort.

"It was extremely difficult for all of those involved with the rescue attempt. We all sat there in shock and disbelief trying to process the terrible news," said a family statement released Sunday by Ronald Schrempp, an uncle of the victim's mother. "Family members offered prayers and said their good-byes to Devin. We asked for the angels to be with him. It was the hardest thing ever to leave Devin on that mountain in the mine shaft."

Such understanding wasn't unanimous, however. As news reports of the trapped man gained national attention, newspaper readers and others online reacted with a mix of comment that included strong opinion that no one should be abandoned in such a situation.

Corey Schuman, owner of Gold Rush Expeditions, a Salt Lake City-based company that locates and files claims on abandoned mines, questioned the decision to stop while Westenskow was still alive.

"I have no doubt we could have pulled him out without a problem," he said Sunday. "It's really not too dangerous. It's a lack of experience that causes problems. Nobody really trains for this and goes into abandoned mines. I have been down shafts 200 or 300 feet and it's not a problem."

There's more in the article...

[josh bernhard]

I read about it today in the Standard-Examiner...I agree, the first thing I though was "MU probably could have done it". I know a fellow who has been in search and rescue for years, and while he is trained to survive blizzards, avalanches, rockslides, earthquakes, and the like, I don't think he has ever had formal training for mine rescues. My condolences go to the family of the man. It is indeed a sad story.

Likewise, don't call 911, call MU if I take a fall.

[Mike]

I guarantee we could have gotten him out and that he'd still be alive with his 5 kids... but all the politics of the BLM and County Sheriff departments would never allow such a thing as an abandoned mine exploration company from Utah to come in...