Sep. 8—Emergency crews rescued a man in Clark Nature Preserve in Martic Township in an hourslong effort Saturday night after he became trapped in Wind Cave, a popular spelunking spot located near the Conestoga Trail.
The rescued man was uninjured, crews told dispatchers. Emergency responders from multiple agencies navigated through narrow, slippery passages in the dark to reach the man over roughly five and a half hours, according to the social media post from Rawlinsville Fire Company.
With limited space, crews chiseled away enough rock to free the trapped spelunker, then hoisted the man out the crevice.
First responders were called to Clark Nature Preserve shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday and cleared the scene around midnight.
Lancaster County Rescue Task Force No. 36 — a specialized rescue team made up of members of the Lancaster City Bureau of Fire, Manheim Township and Blue Rock Fire Rescue — and Rawlinsville and Conestoga Fire companies tried to free the man during several attempts.
Police closed a section of Bridge Valley Road during the rescue.
Saturday was not the first time someone has been trapped in Wind Cave, also known as Cold Cave.
There have been six rescues reported at the cave since 1993. The most recent occurred in February 2018, when a Boy Scout slipped while crawling through a passage and became pinned by a large rock. It took emergency crews — including Rawlinsville Fire Company — seven hours to rescue him.
Wind Cave is one of the largest tectonic caves in the eastern United States. While the majority of caves in the U.S. were formed from water erosion of limestone, these caves are formed by the mass movement of bedrock through tectonic forces.
While most tectonic caves are small, Wind Cave has almost 2,000 feet of passageways and rooms.
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