Police have charged a man who was stuck in a cave in the New South Wales Southern Highlands for two days.
Forty-seven-year-old Geoff McDonnell was caving by himself in the Wombeyan Caves last month when a rockfall trapped him in a standing position.
Authorities were contacted the next day when other cavers noticed him missing, but it took until Sunday night for him to be freed.
The rescue effort involved about 200 people from various emergency services.
Police have charged Mr McDonnell with entering or remaining in a cave without authority, risking the safety of a person in a national park and entering a closed park.
Inspector Doug Pilkington from Goulburn Police says most people who enter a cave in a national park without permission are fined, but charges were appropriate in this case.
"It was an isolated cave, well away from the main tracks," he said.
"There was always the potential for it to go seriously wrong and he took those risks regardless, so it was not appropriate to just issue him with some small infringement notices.
"It was much more appropriate to put him before a court."
He will appear in Goulburn Local Court on July 23.
Source: ABC
