Rescuers use new tech to save caver trapped vertically in Alberta’s ‘Psych Squeeze’

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The rescue group says a cave radio that transmits signals through rock was used in a live operation for the first time.

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The technology was developed by members of Alberta/BC Cave Rescue, which is part of Search and Rescue Alberta, in response to the difficulty of using traditional communication methods like phones, radios or GPS underground.

“By providing reliable text-based communications from deep inside caves to the surface, or between different locations in a cave, teams can now deploy with equipment that is purpose-built by the rescuers who will use them in the field,” Search and Rescue Alberta says in a news release.

It says the new radios are smaller and lighter than traditional analog cave radios, which use technology that can no longer be repaired.

The rescue team now has a cave radio system using technology known as QDX-M, capable of communicating through more than 500 metres of solid rock, the release says.

“Such units are not currently available commercially at an affordable cost, so the benefits of volunteer design and construction work by cavers with electrical engineering and amateur radio backgrounds has been considerable,” it says.

John Alexander, the CEO of Search and Rescue Alberta, said the Rat’s Nest rescue “is a display of what can be achieved when multiple emergency response agencies come together in collaboration, and of the incredible innovation and initiative taken by our 1,500 volunteer search and rescue professionals who defy odds and overcome barriers every day, so others may live.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press