Editing Floyd Collins (section)

===Discovery and rescue efforts===
[[File:Een groepje mensen verzamelde zich bij de grot waar geoloog Lloyd Collins beklemd raakte en vlak, SFA022815825.jpg|thumb|Attempted rescue at Sand Cave]]

Neighbors began to worry for Collins the next day, and went to find him. Though none of them were brave enough to take on the smaller passages it took to reach Collins, they were able to get close enough to communicate with him and learn he was trapped. His younger brother Homer was soon phoned to the scene, and was the only person able to make it through the small passages to get to Floyd before reporter Skeets Miller, Lieutenant Robert Burdon of the Louisville Fire Department, and family friend Johnnie Gerald crossed the boundary in the coming days. Homer brought Floyd food and liquids to retain his energy, and many ideas were thought up by locals and tourists alike as techniques to get Floyd out of the cave. On February 2, 1925, a plan was devised to hoist Collins from the cave using a harness, rope, and the strength of multiple men. This attempt failed and it injured Collins, pulling his torso directly upwards and against the ceiling of rock above him. Rescuers ultimately decided the best way to get him out was to dig out each rock that surrounded him and leverage the large rock off his foot.

Eventually, an electric light was run down the passage to provide him lighting and some warmth. Due to the attention the disaster gained, hundreds of inexperienced cave explorers and tourists stood outside the mouth of the cave. The cool winter air caused them to light campfires that disrupted the natural ice within Sand Cave, causing it to melt and create puddles of cool water, one of which Collins himself lay in. On February 4, the cave passage collapsed in two places due to the ice melting. Attempts were made to dig the passages that led to Collins back out, but rescue leaders, led by Henry St. George Tucker Carmichael, determined the cave impassable and too dangerous, which brought the decision to dig a shaft straight down to reach the chamber behind Collins.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16058689/collins_second_cave_in/|title=Cave floor expands and entombs Collins|date=February 5, 1925|page=1|publisher=Journal and Courier|access-date=December 28, 2017|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=December 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232653/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16058689/collins_second_cave_in/|url-status=live}}{{Open access}}</ref>  Collins survived for more than a week while rescue efforts were organized. The cave drew air inward, meaning no mechanical equipment could be used to dig into the cave, as it was feared that the fumes would suffocate Collins in the process. A {{convert|55|ft|m|adj=on}} shaft would have to be dug downwards with nothing but pickaxes and shovels. It was estimated that the team of 75 volunteer workers would be able to dig this shaft within 30 hours, at a rate of {{convert|2|ft|m}} per hour. The first ton of dirt moved efficiently, though around {{convert|10|ft|m}}, the shaft became so narrow only two men could work at a time. By {{convert|15|ft|m}}, workers hit boulders under the surface and began to use pickaxes. A series of pulley systems were used to remove rocks from the hole, but the pace of work slowed as they dug nearer to Collins. A radio amplifier had been jerry-rigged to the copper wire that connected Collins's light bulb. A scientist believed the amplifier could detect vibrations whenever Collins moved. The amplifier crackled 20 times every minute, a hopeful sign that Collins might be breathing.