List of UK caving fatalities
List of fatalities
There have been a total of 132 fatalities associated with recreational caving. The main causes of death have been drowning when cave diving, drowning as the result of flooding or negotiating deep water, injuries incurred from falling from a height, and injuries incurred as the result of rock falls.

List of UK caving fatalities

Section Title: List of fatalities
Table Section Text: There have been a total of 132 fatalities associated with recreational caving. The main causes of death have been drowning when cave diving, drowning as the result of flooding or negotiating deep water, injuries incurred from falling from a height, and injuries incurred as the result of rock falls.

Date	Cave	Area	Cause	Name	Notes

May 1929	West Mine, Alderley Edge	Peak District	Hypothermia	George Etchells Alfred Hadfield	Bodies found August 1929

July 1936	Alum Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	Mabel Binks	Possibly hit by a rock deliberately thrown down the shaft

May 1939	Rowten Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	John Lambert	Fell and subsequently drowned

June 1946	West Mine, Alderley Edge	Peak District	Fall	Kenneth Brown

Dec 1946	Grange Rigg Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Hypothermia	Harold Sargeant

May 1948	West Mine, Alderley Edge	Peak District	Fall	Leslie Hunt	13-year-old schoolboy

Apr 1949	Wookey Hole	Mendip	Diving	Gordon Marriott

May 1951	Penyghent Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Hypothermia	John Williams

Oct 1954	West Mine, Alderley Edge	Peak District	Fall	Kenneth John Booth	16-year-old schoolboy

May 1955	Alum Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	John Edgar Fisher

Jun 1957	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Leonard Garraway

Jan 1958	Goyden Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Brian Kerr	Body not recovered

Jan 1959	Swildon's Hole	Mendip	Hypothermia	John Wallington

Mar 1959	Peak Cavern	Peak District	CO2 poisoning	Neil Moss	Result of being trapped in confined space. Body interred in situ

July 1959	Dow Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	David Priestman

Dec 1959	Bar Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Eric Sugden

Dec 1960	Eastwater Cavern	Mendip	Rock fall	Alan Hartnell

Jun 1961	Coed-y-Mwstwr Woods Cave	South Wales	Rock fall	Tony Lewis

Sep 1961	Ball Eye Mine	Peak District	Fall	George Keeling

Jan 1962	Hell Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Eban Beeves

Oct 1962	Alum Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	D. Hopley

Mar 1963	Deep Ecton Mine	Peak District	Diving	Garry McElliott	Diving with British Sub-Aqua Club - not a cave diver

May 1963	Mandale Mine	Peak District	Drowned	Roger Low

Nov 1963	Marble Steps Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Mike McShea

Mar 1963	Longwood Swallet	Mendip	Hypothermia	Heather Muirhead

Mar 1964	Lancaster Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Alan Clegg

Jun 1966	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	B. Speakman

Jan 1967	Alum Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	John Drummond	The casualty was under instruction at the time

Feb 1967	Carlswark Cavern	Peak District	Drowned	Robert MacDonald	On 'adventure training'

Mar 1967	Easter Iron Mine	Forest of Dean	Fall	Rex Keene	Hemp rope broke when abseiling 90 metre shaft

Jun 1967	Mossdale Caverns	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Dave Adamson Geoffrey Boireau William Frakes John Ogden Michael Ryan Colin Vickers	The bodies were later interred in the far reaches of cave

Oct 1967	Sunset Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Eric Luckhurst	Rescue formed basis of Sid Perou's film "Sunday at Sunset Pot"

Aug 1968	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Anthony Stannard

Mar 1969	Meregill Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Hypothermia	Christopher Hay

Aug 1969	Ease Gill Caverns	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	Duncan Glasford

Sep 1970	Pollanaffrin	Northern Ireland	Natural causes	Mick Mulligan

Oct 1970	Keld Head	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Alan Erith	Remains retrieved 5 years later

Oct 1970	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Stephen Sedgewick

Feb 1971	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Paul Esser	Remains retrieved in 2010

May 1971	Weathercote Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	John Fellows

Sep 1971	Swinsto Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Michael Midgley

Aug 1972	Firehose Cave	Scotland	Drowned	Peter Clements

Mar 1973	Knotlow Mine	Peak District	Drowned	Alan Evans

May 1973	Wood Mine, Alderley Edge	Peak District	Drowned	Paul Shaw	14-year-old boy on an outdoors pursuits course

July 1973	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Graham Alston	Trainee soldier on exercise

Sep 1973	Eldon Hole	Peak District	Fall	Sulo Sulonen

Apr 1974	Holme Hill Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Peter Trousdale

Jun 1974	Ogof Agen Allwedd	South Wales	Diving	Roger Solari	Body not recovered

July 1974	Merlin's Cave	Peak District	Diving	John Smith

Dec 1974	Gaping Gill	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	David Huxtable	Considered to be the UK's first SRT fatality

Sep 1975	Ireby Fell Cavern	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Stephen Hughes

Feb 1976	Oxlow Cavern	Peak District	Fall	Stephen Nunwick

May 1976	Langstroth Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Martin Blackburn Brian Fox Donald Southern	Encountered foul air whilst free-diving

Aug 1976	Royal Hopping Mine	Peak District	Rock fall	Leslie Wheeler

May 1977	Blayshaw Gill Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	John Rhodes

Sep 1977	Ilam Rising	Peak District	Diving	Mike Nelson

Oct 1979	Cote Gill Pot	Yorkshire Dales	CO poisoning	Richard Marvel John Staniforth	Result of using high explosives

Dec 1979	Ogof Ffynnon Ddu	South Wales	Drowned	J. Fitton D.Gough	Washed away

Mar 1980	Bull Pot of the Witches	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Ian Plant

Aug 1980	GB Cave	Mendip	Natural causes	Ian Miller

Oct 1980	Top Sink	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Tracy Gibson

Nov 1980	Keld Head	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Mark Woodhouse

Feb 1981	Pollnacrom	Northern Ireland	Diving	David Woods	Body not recovered

July 1981	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Adrian Luck

Nov 1981	Wookey Hole	Mendip	Diving	Keith Potter

May 1982	Gaping Gill	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Edward Holstead

May 1982	Diccan Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Natural causes	Anthony Mosedale

Jun 1982	Sunset Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Neofitos Savva

Aug 1982	Ireby Fell Cavern	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	John Martin

Nov 1982	Gaping Gill	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Robert Watson

Sep 1983	Smallcleugh Mine	Cumbria	Fall	17-year-old boy scout fell 18 metres

Jan 1985	Hurtle Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Derek Crossland

Feb 1985	Bagshawe Cavern	Peak District	Drowned	Mark Dowset

Nov 1985	Lancaster Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	David James

Jan 1986	Longwood Swallet	Mendip	Rock fall	Atilla Kurucz

Mar 1986	Rowten Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	David Anderson	Cave Rescue Organisation team member on rescue

May 1986	Dale Head Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	James Taylor

July 1986	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Natural causes	Gwynfor Hughes

Apr 1988	unnamed cave	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Nick Whaite

May 1988	Ease Gill Caverns	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	Janet Barnfield Michael Preece David Simpson

Aug 1988	Uamh Claig-ionn	Scotland	Hypothermia	Charles Butterworth

Feb 1989	Jib Tunnel	Yorkshire Dales	Hypothermia	Keith Mann

May 1989	Ivy Green Cave	Peak District	Hypothermia	Michael Boulton	Body found a year later 100 metres (330 ft) in, with no lighting

Feb 1990	Kingsdale Master Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Phil Tamms

Jul 1990	Glynneath Silica Mine	South Wales	Natural causes	Neville Groom	On management training course

July 1991	Jacob's Mine	Peak District	Rock fall	Stephen Goodwin

Nov 1991	Sell Gill Holes	Yorkshire Dales	Natural causes	Francis Hardy

Jun 1992	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Amanda Stead

Jun 1992	Joint Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Martin McMahon

Oct 1992	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Graham Lipp

Jan 1993	Kingsdale Master Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Michael Jones	Washed into Kingsdale Master Cave sump

Feb 1994	Lost Johns' Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	Paul Lyons

July 1994	Dismal Hill Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Trevor Kemp

Oct 1994	Old Ing Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Peter Ball

Nov 1994	Whittington Stone Mine	Cotswolds	Natural causes	Bob Fairclough

Jan 1995	Marble Arch Caves	Northern Ireland	Drowned	Con Cormican Brian Kennedy Philip Marshall

May 1995	Calf Holes	Yorkshire Dales	Natural causes	Thomas Denny	Management training exercise

Aug 1996	Quaking Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Christine Bleakley

May 1997	Lancaster Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Michael Jeffries

Dec 1998	Ogof Pont Yr Meirw	South Wales	Diving	Peter Fowler

Nov 2000	Lancaster Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Howard Rothwell

Feb 2001	Ireby Fell Cavern	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Julian Carrol Ray Lea

July 2002	Porth yr Ogof	South Wales	Drowned	Kevin Sharman

Sep 2004	Notts Pot	Yorkshire Dales	Fall	Paula Szajnowska

Mar 2005	Low Birkwith Cave	Yorkshire Dales	Diving	Colin Pryer

Nov 2005	Manchester Hole	Yorkshire Dales	Hypothermia	Joseph Lister	School boy on supervised trip

Mar 2006	Upper Flood Swallet	Mendip	Natural causes	Malcolm Cotter

Mar 2006	Astonhill Swallet	Peak District	Rock fall	David Briggs

Aug 2006	Meregill Skit	Yorkshire Dales	Natural causes	Mike Wooding	Died of natural causes whilst diving

Dec 2007	Giant's Hole	Peak District	Hypothermia	Paul Fowkes

Dec 2007	Lower Long Churn	Yorkshire Dales	Drowned	Caroline Fletcher Stuart Goodwill

July 2008	Coal mine at Craigmillar	Scotland	Asphyxiation	Peter Ireson	Abseiled into foul air in disused coal mine

Apr 2011	Pwll-y-Cym	South Wales	Diving	Bonnie Cotier

Aug 2014	Aber Las Mine	North Wales	Asphyxiation	Will Smith	Overcome by foul air in disused slate mine

Feb 2015	Bull Pot, Kingsdale	Yorkshire Dales	Rock fall	Gordon Aitken

Aug 2017	Ewes Top Moss Pot, Scales Moor	Yorkshire Dales	Natural causes	Michael Wood	Date uncertain - body not found for several weeks}

Sentence(s)

The rescue from the film, Sunday at Sunset Pot, was of caver Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.
"Sunday at Sunset Pot" showed the rescue of Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.
Sid Perou's documentary detailed the rescue of caver Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.

final_sentence: The rescue from the film, Sunday at Sunset Pot, was of caver Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.
final_sentence: "Sunday at Sunset Pot" showed the rescue of Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.
final_sentence: Sid Perou's documentary detailed the rescue of caver Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.