Forest ranger details dramatic cave rescue of man stuck in crevice

Forest rangers in New York rescued a man last week who had been stuck in a crevice in a cave for six hours, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The unidentified Brooklyn man was hiking with friends at Merlin's Cave in the town of Canaan on May 17 when he became stuck in the crevice, the department wrote in the caption of a Facebook post Friday.

Forest Ranger Lt. John Gullen, who helped safely pull the man out, said in a video posted on the department's social media page that the man "was really jammed in there more than I had expected."

"It was like his full body was stuck in a crevice that was basically designed the exact shape of him," Gullen said.

The man slipped into the crevice about 400 feet from the cave entrance, according to department officials, and had become completely immobilized.

Gullen said three of the man's friends were still with him when rescuers arrived and had attempted to get him out themselves, but all of them had become hypothermic.

"With any cave rescue, hypothermia is a guarantee," Gullen said. "It's about 50 degrees [Fahrenheit] in the cave, and it's almost 100% humidity, and that gets you cold quick, especially when you're not moving."

Gullen said the man maintained a positive attitude throughout the ordeal, as rescuers worked to free him.

"For most people, that's like their worst nightmare. So he did such a great job keeping a positive attitude. He was giving me thumbs up ... we were telling jokes," he recalled.

The rescue crew were able to use a rock drill to carefully remove parts of the surrounding stone "inches from the subject's head and back" until he was finally able to wiggle himself free, officials said.

"Once we were able to get to a point where we could high-five, we were high-fiving," Gullen said. "It's a feeling that I wish everyone could experience, because there's nothing like it."

The man was ultimately able to walk out of the cave on his own after being warmed up, according to officials.