Cavers rescued after going missing in Bungonia National Park
Updated
Three men who went missing in a cave at a national park on the New South Wales Southern Tablelands have been rescued.
The men, aged 52, 47 and 21 ventured into a cave in the Bungonia National Park, south-east of Goulburn, at 1:00pm on Sunday.
They did not know that a rain storm was about to hit and became trapped when the cave flooded.
They retreated to a high spot inside the cave system and waited.
The experienced cavers were expected to return within five hours and at 10:00pm one of the men's sisters raised the alarm by contacting police.
This morning, rescuers made voice contact with the men through a narrow gap in an isolated part of the cave.
A narrow passage was excavated to reach the men and ropes were used to bring them to the surface.
After being trapped underground for almost 24 hours, all three men have been treated by paramedics and they are well.
The mother of one of those trapped underground, Maureen Bedford, says the storm caught the experienced cavers completely unaware.
"They were down there before the warning came out, so they had no inkling that the storm was about to hit, because they'd been down there for an hour or so," she said.
"They waited out the first lot and started heading out when the second lot hit so they just went back to high ground and knew there'd be people coming coming so they just waited."
Goulburn Local Area Commander Superintendent Zoran Dzevlan says the rescue operation was difficult.
"Conditions had deteriorated in the time the men were below ground and they eventually became trapped by rising water," he said.
He says the men were experienced and well equipped for their adventure.
"One of the gentlemen has over 30 years experience," he said.
"The rising waterline I assume has taken them by surprise, but because they were experienced they knew what to do to remain in a safe location.
"It is important to note that they had sensibly advised relatives of their location should an incident occur."
The National Parks and Wildlife Service describes the area as the "adventure capital" of the Southern Tablelands, with 200 caves to explore.
Topics: emergency-incidents, goulburn-2580, nsw, act, canberra-2600
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