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18th December 2023
11:17am GMT
A dad who experienced the “worst death imaginable" is still entombed in the cave more than a decade later.
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.
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 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.
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.
Following his death, the cave was sealed off so that no one else would lose their life in the cave.
But rescuers were unable to remove John's body, so his remains are still entombed in the cave, which 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.
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