THE family of a boy who was trapped in a cave for three hours has extended its gratitude to emergency services.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Mack Oswald, 14, was pinned between two rocks at Mount Pilot on Saturday while exploring with his parents and a friend.
His mother, Sam Oswald, has now spoken out after the incident to thank those who rescued her son.
“We’re planning to thank everybody personally as well,” she said.
“We just can’t thank them enough.
“They did an incredible job when they turned up to help us.”
The SES, CFA, paramedics and police formed a solid team that helped free Mack.
“For me they just went above and beyond my expectations,” she said.
“You never expect this kind of thing to happen to you.
“Nobody made us feel bad about Mack being in the cave because they understood that was just what we do.
“They were only worried about him and my family and they couldn’t do enough for us to make sure I was OK and Mack was OK.”
Mrs Oswald said throughout the three-hour ordeal, emergency crews were preventing Mack from getting agitated.
They also gave Mrs Oswald their phones so she could call her family.
“When it got to an hour I realised it wasn’t going to end and I went into shut down mode and I just sat on my own,” Mrs Oswald said.
“But everyone was looking at me all the time to make sure I was OK.”
Mrs Oswald was in awe of how the emergency teams worked together.
“They were accepting this was what they do and they came to save my boy with no thanks necessary,” she said.
“They kept saying a good ending was thanks enough for them.
“They were not perturbed by anything and they just did it and it was incredible.”
Mrs Oswald has also written a letter to the editor to express her enormous thanks.
“CFA were on the scene initially, with a man entering the cave to be with our boy right through until he came out,” the letter read.
“SES then arrived along with police and paramedics from all around the area.”
