Summary

  • An injured caver in his 40s was rescued on Monday evening after more than two days underground

  • The man fell and hurt himself while caving in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system in the Brecon Beacons on Saturday

  • He suffered multiple injuries and couldn't get himself out, so another caver notified the police

  • The cave is Britain's third longest and is 902ft (275m) at its deepest point

  • Almost 250 people were involved in the rescue operation

Live Reporting

Rhiannon Beacham and James McCarthy

  1. 'Huge' rescue operation

    BBC Wales reporter Garry Owen describes the scene.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

  2. This is where the rescue is taking place

    The cave is in the Swansea valley, in an area that is part of the Brecon Beacons.

    Map of area

  3. What is Ogof Ffynnon Ddu?

    The South Wales Caving Club gives the lowdown on the cave where the man is trapped on its website.

    It says: "Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, the Cave of the Black Spring, commonly known to the lazy or non-Welsh as OFD, is the nearest cave to the club, lying almost under the cottages.

    "There are three entrances to the system within easy walking distance of the cottage - the OFD one or bottom entrance, the Cwm Dwr entrance and the OFD two, or top entrance.

    "OFD is Britain's third longest cave and 275m deep is its deepest.

    "The through trip from the top to the bottom entrance remains a classic in the UK, and it's approx 61km of passages provide everything from huge chambers, beautiful formations, to yawning chasms and thundering river passages."

    Rescue

  4. Yorkshire team travels to help

    North Yorkshire's Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association is among those to have sent a team to help.

    It posted on Facebook: "UWFRA have deployed a small team of cavers to assist in an on going rescue in Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in south Wales.

    "Multiple teams from the south have been assisting and, yesterday afternoon (Sunday), the British Cave Rescue Council requested further assistance from the northern teams.

    "Our team travelled down overnight and got a few hours sleep before joining the rescue this morning. We wish all the Teams involved a safe trip and a successful outcome."

  5. More volunteers arrive to help

    Rhys Williams

    A group of about a dozen volunteers has just embarked on the 0.6 mile (1km) hike to the top end of the cave, located over a hill at Penwyllt.

    Crews of volunteers are taking it in turns to work there and, since I’ve been here, a further five cavers arrived offering to help, while two other vehicles arrived with refreshments.

    Volunteers

  6. What's happening at the scene?

    Garry Owen
    BBC News

    There's about 50 cars in the car park - obviously people involved in this rescue effort.

    There are also a number of vans with people here from all over the UK.

    Cave rescuers from quite an extensive area including Gloucester, the Midlands and Derbyshire have been called in.

    It's a well known cave system, very popular with cavers, and is in the middle of a nature reserve but is usually recommended for more experienced cavers rather than novices.

    The cave system itself is the second largest in Wales and one of the deepest in the UK.

    Cave entrance

  7. Where is the man trapped?

    The cave system is near Penwyllt, a small hamlet in the Swansea valley, in the county of Powys.

    Penwyllt is roughly 20 miles (32km) from Swansea city centre.

    Map

  8. What do we know so far?

    A man fell and injured himself while caving in the Brecon Beacons on Saturday and could not get himself out.

    Another caver notified police and at least eight rescue teams from across the UK, including the South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team, are at the scene.

    The man is trapped in the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system near Penwyllt, Powys.

    Cave rescue