The “broken-hearted” sister of a man who died after getting “crushed” in a tourist cave in the Lake District has relived his final moments.
Carl O’Keeffe, 49, died eight days after he got stuck for five hours in a simulated cave experience at Kong Adventure Centre, Keswick.
The father-of-three, from Lancaster, was rescued and taken to a hospital in Carlisle after suffering from severe injuries and his family announced that he died around 3pm on Sunday.
His sister Olivia Short had been at her brother’s bedside in hospital since the incident.
Posting on Facebook in the hours after his death, Ms Short said the whole family is “broken-hearted”. She wrote: “At 3pm today I sat with Carl and said goodbye forever.
“He was my baby brother and over the last few years became my best friend. I loved him dearly and we were in contact daily doing word challenges and exchanging weird facts of nature. I also got to spend alternate weekends with him and his children.
“I have been with him since his accident in Keswick on Saturday, April 22. He was taken to Carlisle hospital intensive care with crush injuries. It became apparent that the injuries were severe and he would not be able to survive. He was then moved to a private room and I was able to stay with him so that he could die with some dignity.
“I’m broken-hearted. As are the rest of our family.”
A tribute to Mr O’Keeffe from his family described him as a “devoted parent”. It read: “Carl was a devoted parent and he will leave a huge hole in their lives.
“He was a strong advocate for the neurodiverse community. He taught people to learn what adjustments they needed in life and to not only accept them but to live them.
“He was often seen in dark glasses and a fedora hat as he was photophobic. He had a brilliant mind and was in the process of applying to start an astrophysics PHD.
“He was fascinated by solar storms and had been predicting the one that happened this week while he slept. He spent years having the NASA Hubble photos tattooed onto his arm.”
A statement released by Kong Adventure, said: “On Saturday, April 22, a member of the public became stuck in the cave system at Kong Adventure.
“Staff tried to help the man and followed all emergency procedures but it became apparent that outside assistance was needed.
“Fire crew, mountain rescue, cave rescue, paramedics and Kong staff then worked to extricate the casualty who was taken to Carlisle hospital for further treatment.”
