With specialist knowledge, manpower and equipment such as gas monitoring, rope access and confined space stretchers, Cornwall Search and Rescue Team operates a specialist Mine Rescue Section which responds to incidents involving overdue or injured people in the disused mine workings across the county. A member team of the British Cave Rescue Council, the section is made up of members of mine exploring clubs, avid enthusiasts and surface search and rescue members with a keen interest in technical rescue.

CSRT is proud to have Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service’s only frontline operational co-responding arrangement with a voluntary body. We enjoy a close working relationship with CFRS for mine rescues and we will attend incidents involving trapped or injured persons. Most of the mine incidents CFRS will deal with however are animal incidents - normally dogs who have fallen down one of the thousands of hidden open mineshafts, and the team is available to support these operations.

The police also regularly calls on the team for more specialist searching of mine workings and steep slopes, often for missing or overdue persons.

Below is a short video first aired in November 2009 which explains a bit more about our joint working.