Heartbreaking last words of explorer who suffered ‘worst death imaginable’

He was trapped upside down for more than 24 hours

John Edward Jones lost his life in 2009 at the age of just 26 after he became stuck in Nutty Putty Cave, about 55 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

John, a medical student and experienced explorer, had been exploring the cave with his brother Josh and other family members just a few days before Thanksgiving.

But he got stuck in a narrow tunnel known as the 'Birth Canal' of the cave.

John, who was six feet tall, tried to wriggle through the passage using his hips, stomach and fingers, but as he crawled forwards he realised he was in the wrong passage.

He became stuck upside down in the opening, which was around 400 feet from the cave's entrance and measured just 10 inches by 18 inches.

He had no room to turn around and couldn't move backwards, the Daily Star reports.

Despite Josh's best efforts, he was unable to free his brother, and went to get help.

Over the next 24 hours, more than 100 rescue workers arrived to try and help free John.

Speaking to media at the time, rescuer Shawn Roundy said: "It's very narrow, very awkward, and it's difficult to get rescuers down there.

"It's a really tight spot, but we've been able to get around him. We were able to hold his hand at some point."

Because of the pressure his body was under and the position he was in, John's heart was having to work hard to keep blood pumping around his body .

The panic of the situation then started to kick in.

"I'm going to die right here. I'm not going to come out of here, am I?," he tragically asked, per The Mirror.

The rescuers tried to get John loose using pulleys and did manage to pull him a few feet out of the passage.

But one of the pulleys then failed, and he fell back into the crevice.

Though John, despite being trapped upside down, was allegedly more worried about a volunteer who’d suffered an injury during the rescue mission.

"Is he ok? I think he's really hurt bad," he reportedly asked.

However, after asking for an update on the volunteer, the strain of being stuck inside the cave began taking too much of a toll on his body.

Sadly, John was unable to be safely rescued and he passed away from cardiac arrest, shortly before midnight on November 25, 2009.

He had been stuck for 27 hours.

His remains are still in the cave, which was sealed off a week later by officials so that others didn't lose their lives in the caves.

It now serves as his final resting place and memorial.

He left behind his wife Emily, who was pregnant at the time with a son, and his young daughter.