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A teenager was rescued from a California mineshaft after he and his friends decided to explore the cave using household rope, officials said.
The Placer County Fire Department said crews, with the help of the Auburn City Fire Department, responded to a medical rescue on Feb. 10, for a 16-year-old boy who was stuck in a vertical mine shaft nearly 50 feet deep.
When crews arrived, they were led into the cave by the victim’s friends and learned that he and his friends had entered the shaft to explore, after hiking about 180 feet through a horizontal shaft into the side of a mountain.
California emergency crews rescued a teenager from a 50-foot-deep mineshaft. (Credit: Â CAL FIRE NEU /TMX)
Once safe, the victim was taken to a local hospital to be treated.
“The Placer County Fire Department Rescue Team is one of the busiest teams in the north state and was able to facilitate this technical rescue in a very confined and austere environment 180 feet inside the mountain,” the fire department said in a press release. “This incident highlights the unique natural hazards ever present within our beautiful and rugged landscape in Placer County. Our commitment to public safety in these diverse scenarios using highly trained special operations teams is paramount in our service to the public.”