Man in Utah Cave Faced Tough Odds, Doctors Say

Nov. 26, 2009— -- A man who was trapped in a Utah cave for 28 hours before dying Thanksgiving eve had a limited chance of survival because he was stuck upside down, doctors told ABC News.

At least 100 rescue workers tried to free 26-year-old John Jones of Stansbury Park, Utah after Jones became stuck in a tiny section 150 feet below the surface in the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah County Tuesday evening. The hard rock and narrow walls severely limited rescue options, Utah County Sheriff's spokesperson Sergeant Spencer Cannon told ABCNews.com.

Doctors say the head-down position Jones endured made the rescue operation a race against the clock.

"It sounds just absolutely terrifying," said Dr. Wendy Wright, assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Wright explained hanging upside down for a long period of time could lead to death in a variety of ways and within less than a day -- a fact exploited by the ancient Romans who crucified people upside down more often than right side up.

"It actually was a form of torture and a quick way to kill somebody," said Wright.

Cannon said Jones' position was nearly "straight up and down" -- close to 160 to 170 degree angle. At that position, Wright said it would have been very difficult for Jones to breathe.

"The rib cage is built from the top-down so the lungs expand into the body cavity," said Wright. But when someone is upside down, the lungs "are working against the weight of your liver, of your intestines and the breathing muscles have a difficult time overcoming that."

Eventually, Wright said people in a head-down position will most likely die of suffocation.

Cannon said rescue workers stayed beside Jones in the 18-inch wide and 10-inch high space throughout the ordeal. The small space limited the rescue methods, so volunteers resorted to securing anchors in the cave's walls and tried to pull Jones out by ropes.

Rescue workers were briefly able to lift Jones' high enough to pass him some food and water, but "when they were able to get him raised from where he was stuck, we had a ceiling anchor give way and he fell again," said Cannon.