A man rescued from a Keswick adventure centre on a family day out was last night fighting for his life.
The man, from the Lancaster area, was at Kong Adventure Centre on Heads Road on Saturday. It was a birthday party for a family member and he was with four children.
He slipped while in the caving experience and became stuck. Centre staff could not get the father-of-three out and emergency services were called at around 3pm.
It took emergency services five hours to get the man out of the caves. Police, five fire crews, Keswick Mountain Rescue Team, Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit, Hazardous Area Response Team and Great North Air Ambulance all attended.
The man was rushed to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, where he remains in a critical condition.
A family member, who has been by his bedside since the incident, said: “It has been extremely traumatic. We are by his bedside 24 hours a day.
“He is a regular visitor to Kong Adventure and has explored those caves previously. He is not inexperienced.
“He slipped and became trapped. It was only a day out at a family activity centre and he’s now in hospital, fighting for his life.
“He is still being treated at the Cumberland Infirmary and the fact that he is still alive is a testament to the emergency services and the hospital staff. We cannot stress enough what an amazing job the emergency services did in very difficult circumstances.”
The family member said there were about 50 people involved in the rescue and praised firefighter Judy, who, she said, never left his side during the whole rescue, and Chrissy who helped liaise with family members.
