Life lessons: Inexperienced divers drown in the cave system

Diving is diving, right? Rex is convinced that his exploration experience in shipwrecks and coral reefs can help him through. After all, this is not the first time he ventured in a confined place.

Rex, who is diving, decided to take a quick look at the cave system that connected the lake. It was dark, but he took a small dive light. He kept it in his BCD pocket and he almost forgot himself. Rex thinks the cave system is cool — until he turns to find no way back.

diver

The 47-year-old Rex holds advanced open water certification. He has several certifications for diving expertise, but he has never received cave diving training in caves and confined spaces. In the past 10 years, he has accumulated hundreds of dive records, and most of his experience comes from boat diving in Florida and the Caribbean.

That dive

Rex met three friends in an open water dive site used by local coaches for training. This is a large freshwater lake that can be explored by divers. The owner of the freshwater lake has installed a platform there, and the divers are used to practice skills. They can practice buoyancy control through a fixed ring.

One side of the facility is closed, there is a natural underwater cave out of the lake. This is a place where cave divers can sneak in. When you feel that the front and the top of the rock are approaching, keep the lake going in the direction behind you. Crossing the cave area, divers can enter a wider cave system as long as they have received proper training.

Before Rex and his partners were allowed to dive into the lake, the diving crew had warned the four that they must stay away from the cave and told them that many divers died without proper preparation, training, and equipment. Rex and his friends signed an excuse to agree to take responsibility for their actions and issued a statement admitting they were warned not to enter the cave system. They were told not to allow diving with lights. This is the ultimate measure to prevent inexperienced divers from entering the hole.

ACCIDENT

After a few laps in the open waters of the lake, Rex felt that the dive began to get boring. There isn't much to see and do here. He has no interest in practicing buoyancy control through artificially made rings. He began to wonder about the cave system and then remembered that there was a small diving light in his BCD pocket. His friends all saw him able to pass without touching the body. He decided to swim and explore the cave. He told himself that he would enter the opening to see what it was like. This is not very different from entering the cabin. After entering, it is also in a covered, sealed space.

Rex ignored the cavern warning sign. As soon as he tried hard, he passed the hole - the water poured out of the ground pushed him to him and forced him to march. In the hole, after Rex was exposed to the first light of the hole, he took a little time to adjust his eyes. The first cave didn't have much to see, but he knew the cave was only a bit far. He had seen photos in the dive shop. Rex continued to kick the water forward, looking at the dive lights and looking at the sides of the tunnel, looking for anything to look around. As the water falls, the water pressure in the cave drops significantly, so Rex swims more easily.

A few minutes later, Rex realizes that his potential companion may want to know where he is. He checked his own air and realized that the air had become less and less. He had stayed in the water for about 40 minutes and tried to enter the cave. He turned away but in fact he was not sure of the direction to the water. He kicked the mud that covered the bottom of the cave and the water became cloudy.

Rex became nervous. He began to travel in the direction he thought he was coming in. He was sure he would see the exit at the next turn of the cave passage. But he never found it. When Rex's friends found him missing, they immediately began looking for Rex at the cave entrance. The water that flows out of the cave makes them look no further than the probe, and nothing else can do it. They did not bring diving flashlights, so they could see nothing. They noticed that a considerable amount of silt gushes out of the cave and they feel they need help.

They want them to find Rex on the water and he is waiting for them. However, he did not go to the surface. Rex's body was found a few days later.

Accident analysis

There is a saying that when you see the air pressure drop to zero it means you will not be able to spend the rest of your life. Every year, divers can hear these terrible lessons.

Rex made some mistakes, but no more fortunes than for a simple decision to make his self and curiosity instead of reasoning sounds more unfortunate. He ignored the warning and was told that he was about to enter the cave where divers died. He also disregarded warnings that he was not allowed to bring in water.

Diving in caves or any enclosed environment requires training, practice, experience and professional equipment. If you go through a cave diving course, Rex will learn that only half a bottle of air does not enter the cave system and other rules related to respiratory gas management. He will practice using a reel to lay a line into the hole so that he can find his way back. He will also practice kicking water to effectively prevent him from raising the mud at the bottom of the cave. He will also learn that he needs to carry a main light source and at least one spare light source in case one of them fails. Of course, he will not enter the first visit to the cave without a companion.

The lesson of life:

1. Do not enter. Without special training and equipment, do not enter a closed environment.

2, understand your limit. Your diving experience in one environment does not mean you can dive anywhere. If you dive into a new place, do a guided tour to understand the local underwater environment.

3. Follow the rules. The cave system that does not allow you to bring diving lights into the lake is a protection for you.