19-year-old lost his lamp in an Australian cave in 1953, survived three days, became a NASA scientist; 68 years later, students found the lamp still hanging

• Professor Brian O’Brien and the carbide lamp he lost inside an Australian cave in 1953.
• Image: ABCBrian O’Brien was 19 when he entered the Yarrangobilly Caves in New South Wales in December 1953 with fellow caver Fred Stewart, but a short exploration turned into a three-day fight for survival.
• The pair became separated inside East Deep Cave, and O’Brien eventually lost the carbide lamp that was his only source of light after slipping and falling.