Exclusive video goes inside daring underwater cave rescue of British diver in Tennessee

Josh Bratchley, an experienced diver, was said to be in good health.

April 19, 2019, 7:58 AM

Exclusive video obtained by ABC News goes inside a murky, underwater cave in Tennessee during the daring rescue of a highly trained British diver who went missing while exploring.

Josh Bratchley, a member of the elite international team that helped save 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand last summer, was rescued from the cave near Nashville on Wednesday night after disappearing on Tuesday.

The rescue video was filmed from the helmet of Ed Sorenson, a technical cave diver from Florida who located Bratchley and helped save him.

PHOTO: Exclusive video obtained by ABC News goes inside a murky, underwater cave in Tennessee during the daring rescue of a highly-experienced British diver who went missing while exploring.
Exclusive video obtained by ABC News goes inside a murky, underwater cave in Tennessee during the daring rescue of a highly-experienced British diver who went missing while exploring.
Edd Sorenson/Cave Adventurers

About 45 minutes into Sorenson's search, the video shows Bratchley, covered in mud, sitting on a ledge in the cave's air pocket awaiting rescue.

The video later shows the moment Sorenson surfaced with Bratchley.

"Thank you for still being here and calm," Sorenson told him.

Bratchley was evaluated by medical crews on the scene and determined to be in stable condition.

PHOTO: Exclusive video obtained by ABC News goes inside a murky, underwater cave in Tennessee during the daring rescue of a highly-experienced British diver who went missing while exploring.
Exclusive video obtained by ABC News goes inside a murky, underwater cave in Tennessee during the daring rescue of a highly-experienced British diver who went missing while exploring.
Edd Sorenson/Cave Adventurers

Sorenson said it was "very difficult" to find the British diver because conditions inside the cave were dangerous, and Bratchley's guideline to the surface had been broken.

"Rescues are very, very rare," Sorenson said on "Good Morning America," "so any time I can bring somebody home back to their family and not in a bag, it's a great day."

Josh Bratchley was found after being trapped for more than 28 hours; Bratchley was one of the heroes in the Thai cave rescue.
Josh Bratchley was found after being trapped for more than 28 hours; Bratchley was one of the heroes in the Thai cave rescue.

ABC News' Matt Foster contributed to this report.