Josh Bratchley is considered one of the most accomplished divers in the world. The Briton had helped in 2018 to free the twelve boys trapped in a cave in Thailand. Now the diver himself had to be rescued from a cave in the USA.
According to the British BBC, Bratchley had explored a cave in Jackson County, Tennessee. When he did not return to the surface, friendly British divers reportedly searched for him for hours and alerted the rescue teams.
After the rescue pizza is required
Special divers from other US states were flown in to rescue the man from the cave system. Rescue Diver Edd Sorensen told broadcaster NBC that he feared the worst because of low water and low visibility. Bratchley himself had behaved exemplary in the rescue operation.
Sorensen had been forced to travel 120 meters in a narrow underwater passage while recovering the British from salvage specialist Brian Krebs of the Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service. Bratchley was released after more than a day on Wednesday night from the Mill Pond Cave near Nashville.
Steve Parsons / PA Wire / dpa
Josh Bratchley
"The only thing he asked for on his return to the surface was pizza," said Derek Woolbright of the BBC's rescuers.