Neil Moss (caver)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neil Moss (full name Oscar Hackett Neil Moss) was the victim of a famous caving accident in England on Sunday March 22, 1959. A twenty-year-old undergraduate studying philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford, Moss became jammed after descending a narrow unexplored shaft in Peak Cavern, a famous cave system near Castleton in Derbyshire. Initial attempts to haul him free failed because the rope broke several times. When he lost consciousness as carbon dioxide from his own respiration built up in the base of the shaft, he was unable to assist further rescue attempts made with a stronger rope. He never regained consciousness and was declared dead on Tuesday morning.

His father, wishing to avoid further injury or loss of life in an attempt to retrieve his body, requested that it be left in place. The fissure in which it was jammed was sealed with concrete and an inscription was later placed nearby. This section of Peak Cavern is now known as Moss Chamber.

[edit] External links

• The Neil Moss Tragedy
• An article discussing the danger of CO₂ in caving^{[dead link – history]}