High-schooler on Field Trip Has Been Trapped in Texas Cave for Hours

Crews were working Thursday night to free a San Antonio high school student who has been stuck in a cave for more than seven hours. The 18-year-old student traveled to the Robber Baron Cave Preserve for a field trip with other LEE High School students but became stuck about 2:40 p.m. in an area called the Hole in the Floor, San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood said. The student was conscious, alert and in good spirits, he said. Her parents were on the scene Thursday night and she has not been left alone at any point in the rescue, Hood said. The student had a IV and was being given food to keep her carbohydrate levels up. Crews also are monitoring the air quality and have set up lighting so they can see and work. As temperatures drop, the challenge has been to keep the student warm while rescuers work to chisel away at the rock that she is wedged in, Hood said. As the work continued into the night, crews worked to devise other ways to get the student out, such as with soap. They were building a floor to keep the teen from sliding into a position that would make it hard for her to breathe, he said. A harness was strapped to the student and she was given a helmet and other safety gear.   Continue reading...