A dad has tragically died following a horrific accident at a children's birthday party.
As reported by BBC News, 49-year-old father Carl O'Keeffe passed away after getting trapped inside a narrow tunnel at an indoor caving experience at a climbing center in the Lake District of England.
O'Keeffe was reportedly visiting the Kong Adventure center in Keswick as part of a child's birthday party on April 22. The center's website boasts an indoor "70m-long caving network" for guests to tackle.
However, after venturing inside of a narrow tunnel with four children, O'Keeffe slipped and became stuck.
The alarming incident sparked a four-hour rescue operation, with staff initially attempting to rescue the father themselves. However, when this failed, the Mirror reports that six crews from Cumbria Fire and Rescue, police, Keswick Mountain Rescue, Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit, Great North Air Ambulance, and the Northwest Ambulance Service's Hazardous Area Response Team all responded to the call.
With the help of other guests, sections of the climbing wall were dismantled and removed to allow for easier access for members of the rescue services.
"While the emergency services were deciding on evacuation plans, the climbing wall staff, assisted by visiting climbers, started dismantling sections of the wall to aid access to tunnels hidden behind the climbing wall panels," rescue teams said at the time, per BBC News.
A spokesperson for the mountain rescue team revealed that concerns were high due to the amount of time O'Keeffe had spent trapped in the confined space.
After the father was freed, he was rushed to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
Sadly, O'Keeffe's family has now revealed that the father passed away at 3:00PM on Saturday, April 30, after succumbing to his injuries.
Taking to Facebook, the father's sister, Olivia Short, wrote in a post: "He was my baby brother and over the last few years became my best friend."
"I also got to spend alternate weekends with him and his children," Short added. "I'm broken hearted, as are the rest of our family."
A statement from the Kong Adventure center stated that staff at the venue "followed all emergency procedures" after learning that O'Keeffe had become stuck, before "it became apparent that outside assistance was needed".
The Keswick Mountain Rescue Team also stated that the operation to free the father involved a "significant effort" by rescuers.
At this time, Cumberland Council is looking into the venue while Cumbria Police continues to investigate O'Keeffe's death.
Our thoughts go out to everybody impacted by this tragedy.
