Spelunking accident ends in tragedy in South Pittsburg


South Pittsburg, Tenn. – A tragic accident on Sunday resulted in the death of a cave enthusiast at the site known as The Devil’s Pit near South Pittsburg, TN. The destination has more recently been labeled “South Pittsburg Pit” since it became a part of the Southeastern Cave Conservancy (SCCi).

South Pittsburg Police Department responded to a dispatch shortly before 11:00 am on Sunday that someone had fallen into the pit entrance and was unresponsive. Other members of the party that were making the descent into the cave with the victim, Josh Bonds, of Albertville, Alabama, lead authorities to the scene from the road. In the incident report, spectators indicated that Bonds was “coming down fast and appeared to be completely unconscious.”

By coincidence, the Hamilton County Cave Rescue unit was training at a different location on South Pittsburg Mountain and responded to the accident scene. According to the incident report, as Bonds was extricated from the pit, the victim became unresponsive and rescuers administered CPR. However, the victim was unable to be resuscitated and was pronounced dead on the scene shortly after noon. Puckett EMS transported Bonds to the Parkridge West morgue for the Marion County Medical Examiner. Further information will be offered after an autopsy is performed.

The investigation continues and we will continue to follow this story.

One response to “Spelunking accident ends in tragedy in South Pittsburg”

  1. Bob N. says:

    Correction: “Caver,” “caving enthusiast”

    One does not rock climb in caves– caves are for caving and aboveground rocks are for climbing.

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