Brandon Kowallis, a respected cave explorer and YouTuber, was the last individual to see the ill-fated trainee medic John Jones alive before his tragic death, trapped upside down in a cave.

John’s life was tragically cut short after being stuck for over 24 hours in Utah’s Nutty Putty Cave back in 2009. One of the rescuers who attempted to save him has now shared the harrowing details of John’s final moments.

Despite tireless efforts, the rescuer revealed the heart-breaking reason why he couldn’t rescue John from what has been dubbed the ‘worst death imaginable’.

At the tender age of 26, John was a medical student with a passion for exploration and considerable experience in caving. However, over 15 years ago, he made a deadly error that has since been compared to ‘crawling into his own grave’.

When he became lodged in a particularly tight section of the cave known as the ‘birth canal’, it quickly became apparent that John, who stood at six feet tall, was immobilised. A misguided turn in the tunnel ultimately led to his untimely demise, reports <a href=”https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/2127018/cave-explorer-breaks-silence-being-final-witness-nightmare-death” rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Express</a>.

Brandon has since offered his account of the tragic events in a blog post, detailing the rescue mission he took part in on that doomed day in 2009. By the time rescuers reached John on November 15, Brandon recalled that he had been trapped for several hours and the situation was rapidly worsening.

The cave explorer revealed: “He was in and out of consciousness and had started talking about seeing angels and demons around him.”

Brandon’s mission was to traverse the perilous and exceptionally tight passage to assess John’s condition, alongside a fellow rescuer. Yet what he discovered down there remains deeply troubling to this day.

He remembers detecting a rattling sound as liquid built up in John’s airways, whilst his limbs jerked involuntarily. He explained: “It looked like he could only be lifted another foot or two in his current position because of where the webbing was anchored around his knees.

“After a foot or two his feet would hit the ceiling. And then once he reached the ceiling, there was no way to tilt him to a horizontal position.”

Without any method to reposition him correctly, and John requiring his own physical power to shift himself, the operation was already monumentally difficult. But with John unconscious, it became impossible.

In one final frantic effort to free him, the prospect of employing a jackhammer to widen the cramped passage was actually considered – though this would have been a brutal solution. According to the explorer, John would have sustained serious harm, nevertheless, it was an action they were willing to consider in a last-ditch effort to preserve his life.

After hours of laborious chipping and hammering at the rocks, the task proved even more challenging than expected. Brandon’s estimates suggested that it would take anywhere from ‘three to seven days’ to free John from the cave, and time was not on their side.

Throughout this ordeal, John’s family communicated with him via a radio, expressing their love and sharing their final words. Brandon recalls hearing John’s loved ones praying for him and his father bestowing a blessing upon him.

Rescue teams worked relentlessly into the night, meticulously chipping away at the rock. However, just before midnight, they were instructed to check John’s vital signs.

Tragically, he was pronounced dead at approximately 11:52, with the cause of death being cardiac arrest and suffocation.

The young man, aged 26, left behind his beloved wife, Emily, and their infant daughter, Lizzie. They were also expecting another child who was born following the tragic incident.

The baby boy was named in honour of his late father, John.