A diabetic trapped in a cave for
more than 48 hours says he
desperately struggled for freedom,
digging and shouting for
help, before finally preparing to
die.
Geoffrey McDonnell, 47, was
unconscious when rescuers
brought him to the surface at
Wombeyan Caves, in the NSW
Southern Highlands, around
10pm on Sunday.
Speaking from his hospital bed
about his ordeal, Mr McDonnell
said he had entered the cave
alone to take photographs when
a rockslide occurred about 7pm
on Friday.
He found himself trapped in
rock rubble up to his waist in a
cave system about 80m underground.
Having expected to spend
about four hours in the caves, Mr
McDonnell had taken just a few
muesli bars, a light and his
camera.
''I spent all of my time there,
about every hour, in little bursts
digging, moving small rocks,
working away to try to get myself
out,'' he said at Liverpool Hospital.
''I was left with two rocks
which I couldn't move.''
The experienced caver said he
initially felt confident he could
dig himself free, but by Sunday
morning, feeling extremely
dehydrated and without his diabetes
medicine, he was close to
giving up.
''What really did me in, I had
no water and I had to wait for one
drop that would come from the
ceiling and it took hours,'' he
said.
Mr McDonnell said he made a
60-second film on his camera in
which he apologised to his family
and said he loved them.
''I spent hours shouting and
that's when I started scraping the
skin off my body in a real
desperate attempt to get out,'' he
said.
Rescuers made contact with
Mr McDonnell about 9.25am on
Sunday, after noticing the water
bottle he had accidentally left at
the cave entrance.
He fell unconscious as they
worked for hours to free him and
bring him to the surface.
''I'm just glad to be alive, it's
unreal to be able to stand up and
move around a little bit after
being in such a confined space
for a couple of days,'' he said.
''My solo caving career is definitely
finished.
''What I did was foolish and I
shouldn't have done that and I
won't be doing that again.''
Mr McDonnell, who is vice-
president of the Sydney
Speleological Society, said he
wanted to thank members of the
NSW Cave Rescue Squad, other
emergency workers and staff at
the hospital where he was still
recovering.
He also said he expected to be
charged under laws designed to
protect national parks.
AAP