Two potholers drown as flash flood hits cave

Two potholers died after they were overcome by rapidly rising water in a cave often used by school children on outdoor adventure trips.

Emergency services were alerted at 1am by the man's wife when he failed to call home. The bodies were found two hours later.

Their bodies were found around 200ft from the entrance of the Long Churn cave, near Selside in the Yorkshire Dales National Park yesterday.

The victims, described as experienced potholers who were well equipped for the expedition, were believed to have been caught out by a sudden change in a stream in Long Churn.

North Yorkshire Police have begun an investigation, but said there were no suspicious circumstances. They have not named the victims and were yesterday trying to trace relatives, who had gone away for Christmas. The Long Churn cave, which is about 3,000ft long in total, is part of the popular Yordas Cave system near Ingleton.

The man from Darlington and the woman from West Yorkshire went into the caves on Thursday morning. There had been significant rainfall in recent days.

Phil Haigh, duty controller of the Cave Rescue Organisation, said it was not known how deep the water was when the potholers drowned. He said under normal conditions the cave was considered relatively safe and regularly used by beginners.

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"This is a popular cave used by hundreds of people every year. We get a lot of youth and school groups going down there. It's a good introductory cave with a little bit of everything."

Although the height of the cave varies, potholers can "walk" rather than crawl along it.

Mr Haigh said water levels can rise suddenly in caves in the area, with flash floods or "pulses" of water threatening anyone caught underground.

But conditions had not been particularly dangerous in recent days and experienced cavers would have expected to negotiate the cave system safely, he added.

However, one villager in Clapham, where the rescue team is based, said: "Going into the caves in these conditions is like walking into a coffin. People come at this time of year and are determined to go down there whatever the weather. It's crazy."