Daring Rescue Mission Caught on Camera After 16 Year Old Falls 50 Feet Into Mineshaft

A 16 year old boy is lucky to be alive after a harrowing experience deep underground inside an old California gold mine.

The teen and a group of friends had explored a horizontal shaft into the side of the mountain in Northern California on Monday, reaching a point about 180 feet inside the mine.

That’s when disaster struck, and the teen fell approximately 50 feet into a vertical shaft when his rope snapped.

A 16-year-old teen was rescued from a 50-foot deep mine shaft in Northern California on Monday after the rope he was using to climb back out of the hole snapped, according to officials.

Read more: https://t.co/uV51o22Tjm pic.twitter.com/mBjBkevOci

— ABC News (@ABC) February 14, 2025

Emergency crews were dispatched just before 3:30pm local time, and after devising a complex rope system the rescue crew went to work, according to an ABC News story:

A 16-year-old teen was rescued from a 50-foot deep mine shaft in Northern California on Monday after the rope he was using to climb back out of the hole snapped, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The teenager and his friends traveled about 180 feet into the mine shaft and the side of the mountain to explore and rappelled 40 to 50 feet down using a household rope, Cal Fire said.

Upon their ascent back, the rope broke, and the victim fell about 30 feet back to the bottom of the shaft. He attempted to free climb his way back up, but “ultimately lost strength and positioned himself in a precarious ledge awaiting rescuers,” officials said.

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Once crews arrived on the scene, the teen’s friends led rescuers to the victim. The Placer County Technical Rescue Team was able to successfully save the teen using a “lightweight, complex rope system and established air monitoring,” Cal Fire said.

It took rescue crews some time to reach the opening of the mine, where they initiated air monitoring and went to work on devising a rope system.

Teen rescued after falling into Northern California mine shaft https://t.co/hm4FFyz1Fi

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 11, 2025

Check out this video captured during the rescue as reported by Fox News:

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The teen’s friends called 911 within minutes of their friend’s fall.

Here’s another section of video from the rescue, as well as more detail from ABC News:

A 16-year-old teen was rescued from a 50-foot deep mine shaft in Northern California after the rope he was using to climb back out of the hole snapped, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. https://t.co/GpX1g5SZJn pic.twitter.com/aYYpoTgayS

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 15, 2025

The victim’s friends led rescuers to the mine shaft once they arrived on scene.

The fallen teen attempted to climb out under his own power, according to the rescuers, but was unable to navigate the steep shaft, according to Fox News:

When crews arrived, they were led into the cave by the victim’s friends and learned that he and his friends had entered the shaft to explore, after hiking about 180 feet through a horizontal shaft into the side of a mountain.

Using household ropes, the three youths rappelled about 40–50 feet down a vertical shaft. But on their way back up, the rope broke, and the third victim fell about 30 feet down to the bottom of the shaft.

Officials said the victim attempted to climb his way out of the shaft but ultimately ran out of strength and positioned himself on a ledge while waiting for rescuers.

The primary rescuer from the team then rappelled down to the victim’s location, secured him with a harness, and he was lifted out of the shaft to safety.

The identity of the teen has not been released.

He was taken to a local trauma center for treatment, but seems to have suffered no serious injuries from his ordeal.