Monday, December 03, 2007 How to cope with caving or trekking accidents
BEFORE you scale mountains or explore caves, make sure that others, preferably local officials, know what you’re up to and why, two experienced mountaineers said yesterday.
Make sure the team knows about basic safety procedures and packs a first aid kit for emergencies, said SFO4 Bernardo del Mar, team leader of the Cebu City Fire Station Search and Rescue Unit.
His team joined volunteers who went to Barangay Gaas, Balamban to help retrieve the body of Dr. Adolph Espina II, an optometrist who fell and died while exploring a vertical cave last Friday.
Climbers and trekkers, del Mar said, would do well to coordinate with barangay or other local officials who can brief them about the terrain. They can also send search and rescue teams more quickly if they know where the team is headed.
If anyone in your party is injured, apply first aid and keep the person awake while some members of the team go get help.
Anything can happen in a cave exploration or mountain climbing trip, so be sure to pack medicine, water purifier tablets and antibiotics along, said a member of the Climbing Enthusiast Backpackers.
“In an accident, the chances of survival can get slim. We have to depend on rescuers from outside,” said Jason Tabasa, a mountaineer of 10 years who has scaled Mt. Apo and Mt. Kanlaon. It’s important to stay calm and cope as best as one can, such as “using tree branches as improvised stretchers or to support a fractured part of the body.”
He knew Dr. Espina and the team that went to Balamban, being also a member of Speleogical Cebu, and vouched for their professional experience and extensive preparation before they went to explore the Bito cave.
“It was an accident,” said Tabasa, who added that it was the first such tragedy among Cebu’s mountaineers. (JST/AIV)
