BROOKLYN, New York (WCBS) — Not many people can say they were rescued out of a cave, but Brooklyn resident Aidan Kaminer sure can.
Now in good health, he spoke out Thursday about last month’s lengthy rescue mission in upstate New York.
Aidan Kaminer’s ordeal
For six hours on May 17, during a trip to Merlin’s Cave in Columbia County, Kaminer, of Bushwick, was stuck in an awkward position. He was with at least six other explorers when he slipped into a slim crevice just before the cave’s exit.
“I was sideways, 90 degrees, one arm under the rock shelf, one arm above with my legs out,” Kaminer said.
It took six hours, but Bushwick, Brooklyn resident Aidan Kaminer was eventually freed from a crevice he got stuck in inside Merlin’s Cave in Columbia County back in mid May.
Those who were with him called 911 immediately. Firefighters showed up within minutes, but more was needed to get him out.
“Basically, I was pinned at the chest and the hip and I had energy, but I couldn’t pull myself out,” Kaminer said. “I was shivering at some points, but, again, I was okay because I had a lot of great people with me.”
Forest Rangers to the rescue
John Gullen, a lieutenant Forest Ranger with the Department of Environmental Conservation, who is familiar with caves and rescues, helped get Kaminer out of the cave. He said the 50-degree, 100% humidity conditions exposed Kaminer to risks of hypothermia.
“He was really jammed in there more than I had expected. Like, his full body was stuck in a crevice that was basically in the shape of him,” Gullen said.
What took all those hours was getting the right equipment to cut out the rock around Kaminer without injuring him. Gullen said it ended up being 20 minutes of drilling, but could’ve taken much longer.
“I had even told my wife, ‘Hey, not sure when I’m gonna be back. This could be a multiple-day event,'” Gullen said. “[Kaminer] did a phenomenal job of staying calm. I don’t know if there are many people who could stay calm.”
Kaminer said he was able to do so because he never really felt like his life was in danger.
“At no point was I thinking, ‘Shoot, this is the end of my days,'” Kaminer said. “You just sort of get into that mode and do what you need to do to make sure that it turns out the best way that it can.”
“I would go again this weekend” An experience like the one he went through might deter many people from going caving again, but not Kaminer.
“I would go again this weekend if there was a trip full of experienced cavers I could go with as friends. I would do it in a few days, maybe just not that specific cave,” Kaminer said.
After some warm Gatorade and Reese’s chocolate, and, eventually, a bagel, Kaminer, a vegetarian and intermediate caver, stayed at the local fire captain’s house overnight. Kaminer said the best takeaways from his experience was making new friends with his rescuers and remembering to always go with a group of experienced cavers.
“In a sense, I had the easiest job there, essentially had to be patient. I had to freeze. I had to trust that the rescue was going to get done and, thankfully, they did,” Kaminer said.
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