The entrance to Porth yr ogof. Photo: Herby CC-BY-SA-3.0
A caver’s body has been brought to the surface after lying underground for more than 39 years.
Paul Heinz Esser died in February 1971 while cave diving in Porth yr ogof in the south of the Brecon Beacons national park. The remains of the trainee diver were recovered last week by two members of the South & Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team.
Mr Esser was a 21-year-old medical student at Bristol University at the time of his death in a sump on 13 February 1971.
Family members were present at the site, near Ystradfellte, when his body was brought above ground on Thursday. Several attempts had been made in the past to find and recover his body.
Investigators concluded Mr Esser, who had progressed from open water diving to cave diving, had followed a fixed line that had become detached and washed downstream, erroneously thinking it would lead him along a safe route.
Porth yr ogof has the reputation of the second most deadly cave in modern British potholing, having claimed 11 lives since 1957 including Kevin Sharman, a 17-year-old trainee soldier, the last to perish in the system in July 2002.
He died at the Resurgence Pool, the site of which has seen 10 of the deaths.
Only the Three Counties system on Leck Fell on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park has claimed more lives – 12 – and includes Lancaster Pot, Pipikin, the Easegill system and Lost John’s Cave.
Bob Holder
29 April 2010Near the entrance that Paul used his parents placed a seat inscribed" He died seeking peace and joy".
The last time I wasin the area someone had removed the brass sign
Jhimmy
29 April 2010What a sad story. I can't image what must have been going through his parent minds when they visited the cave entrance knowing their son was still in there.
Alan mills
19 September 2021I was on that recue to recover the body of Paul Esser, from what I recall Paul was holding the diving line that was pushing the sump when he ran out of air, the body was in a strong current just beyond the bedding plane squeeze the only way to get him out would put the divers in danger of being trapped also as the water current was to strong, cutting the line that Paul was holding would have sent Paul into the bedding plane squeeze thus trapping the other divers trying to recover the body, the bottle and first stage of the valve were removed and brought out it was a difficult experience for us all to lose one of our own