it here on bbc news. the man who spent more than 50 hours underground after being badly injured while caving in the brecon beacons has been back to meet some of the volunteers who saved his life. george linnane fell last november and broke his leg, jaw and several ribs leaving him in agony and wondering if he d ever get out. more than 300 volunteers from around the ukjoined the extraordinary rescue effort. our correspondent hywel griffith reports. little did i know it was going to turn into a 50, 60 hour epic, whatever it was, where, you know, i could have never come out of there again. this is where george linnane s life changed in an instant. ogof nynnon ddu, britain s deepest cave system. somewhere he d been dozens of times before, but, last year, deep underground, the rock beneath him crumbled and he fell into the darkness. the first thing i knew about it was this instantaneous feeling of legs whirling around in midairand arms grabbing for something. one second, i was caving,
to a full recovery is going to be a long one. george still faces months of treatment but is determined to return to caving and become a rescue volunteer, joining the team which saved him. if there was a message you wanted to give them, the people who turned out and travelled to come and help you, what would it be? i would just say thank you from the bottom of my heart, really, and i d also just let them know that the beer that i owe them is on the way. yep, it s in the pipeline. hywel griffith, bbc news, at ogof nynnon ddu. what a wonderful rescue story there with a happy ending. rare heavy snowfall has blanketed much of the eastern mediterranean. it s caused blackouts, traffic havoc and closures. in turkey, istanbul s main airport is covered, cancelling flights for a second day. a cargo terminal roof collapsed under the weight of the snow.
the ogof nynnon ddu cave system in trapped: 5a hours underground. did you think that you might not survive? honestly, yes, at times. i sort of flipped between two macro states. there was the i am going to fight this thing and i m going to survive state, which then became i really don t care and i wish you would stop talking to me so i canjust kind of let whatever is going to happen happen kind of state. and i would catch that and start fighting again. i flipped between the two so it was kind of dark times, initially, i guess. this is where in november 2021, george linnane s life changed in an instant. ogof nynnon ddu in the brecon beacons is britain s deepest and most complex cave system, somewhere george has visited dozens of times before. there is some amazing stuff down there. there is a beautiful black. my personal favourite part of the cave is the mainstream way, which is beautiful black limestone,
the extraordinary rescue effort. our correspondent hywel griffith reports. little did i know it was going to turn into a 50, 60 hour epic, whatever it was, where, you know, i could have never come out of there again. this is where george linnane s life changed in an instant. ogof nynnon ddu, britain s deepest cave system. somewhere he d been dozens of times before, but, last year, deep underground, the rock beneath him crumbled and he fell into the darkness. the first thing i knew about it was this instantaneous feeling of legs whirling around in midairand arms grabbing for something. one second, i was caving, the next, the world went mad. it all went black and, two minutes later, i woke up in a very different state to when i d started. george broke his leg, jaw and several ribs. he was bleeding heavily. as a friend went for help, he wrestled with the pain. did you think that
after 54 hours underground and being carried on a stretcher for 3,500 metres, this is the exit where george finally came to the surface. from here, he was transferred into a rescue vehicle, then into an ambulance, then on to hospital. but his journey to a full recovery is going to be a long one. george still faces months of treatment but is determined to return to caving and become a rescue volunteer, joining the team which saved him. if there was a message you wanted to give them, the people who turned out and travelled to come and help you, what would it be? i would just say thank you from the bottom of my heart, really, and i d alsojust let them know that the beer that i owe them is on the way. yep, it s in the pipeline. hywel griffith, bbc news at ogof nynnon ddu. now it s time for a look at the weather. hello. our weather is set to turn out more