3 unaccounted for after a flooded magnesite mine 'Maria Concordia' dive in Poland
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That would be my guess as well as I am sure there are standards for conducting cave training that require some minimal conditions to be met to safely conduct the training. It follows that they would not enter with visibility described by the police divers as ‘couldn’t see a watch on my hand.’
At 0:40 in the dive video I posted in the first post you can see maps of different levels in the mine.
I am presuming, based on the police spokesperson, that they were on the ‘level 12’ (level numbers correspond to depth based on ‘level 36’ being 36m deep). The spokesperson described their plan as having ‘descended to 14m, then after reaching that depth they entered a long tunnel after a turn; such tunnel then had a restriction.’
The above fits ‘level 12’ outline.
Note on the video:
1) Some of those restrictions look quite tight (for mere cave diving mortals like myself)
2) Many of the tunnels have a thick layer of silt on the bottom
3) Otherwise the visibility is crystal clear.
ginti
Contributor
I also assume something happened. However, I don't believe they made it. There were three instructor presents, they would have noticed it and stopped the course in advance.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine an event that would so dramatically change the visibility in such a short time. This is why I was asking.
News 4
Cave rescue divers from Fire Departments from different regions of Poland have managed to recover 1 body to the surface. They have also located the third diver inside the mine.
They did 3 dives today and suspended the activities for the night. They had to lay a new guideline. They will resume tomorrow morning.
Each dive results in zero visibility in the corridors, to the point that they 'cannot see their hand in front of the mask.' It takes few hours for the visibility to improve to the point where the dive teams can enter again.
[Speculation]
Someone commenting in the News4 comments section mention the mine was old and was falling apart. Apparently, there was a crump(?)/tap(?) (not sure which is the proper English translation, where the corridor collapses in mine) and it caused zero viz and possibly other problems with returning (broken guideline, new restrictions).
Cave rescue divers from Fire Departments from different regions of Poland have managed to recover 1 body to the surface. They have also located the third diver inside the mine.
They did 3 dives today and suspended the activities for the night. They had to lay a new guideline. They will resume tomorrow morning.
Each dive results in zero visibility in the corridors, to the point that they 'cannot see their hand in front of the mask.' It takes few hours for the visibility to improve to the point where the dive teams can enter again.
[Speculation]
Someone commenting in the News4 comments section mention the mine was old and was falling apart. Apparently, there was a crump(?)/tap(?) (not sure which is the proper English translation, where the corridor collapses in mine) and it caused zero viz and possibly other problems with returning (broken guideline, new restrictions).
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That would depend on the water source and speed. There is a spring-fed swimming pool with natural bottom in West Texas where many of us around here did our OW as the water is generally very clear. Every now and then tho a big rain on nearby mountains causes the water to quickly turn murky. Some cave diving happens in the area and I suppose they get the same input.
Edit: As Jack Hammer notes in the following post, this was in a mine, so I don't guess there was inflow. His appraisal of probabilities sounds likely.
Jack Hammer
Contributor
No idea what actually occurred. Typically mines have no to little flow, so anything stirred up can stay suspended in the water column for quite some time. Moving through a restriction could cause a loss of vis, especially if something was knocked loose. A collapse would cause a massive loss of vis and is a real world concern in mines. Also percolation, debris and silt knocked from ceiling by exhaled bubbles, can dramatically reduce vis.
ginti
Contributor
Thanks for the reply guys, you provided reasonable hypotheses for my doubts.
The body of the third diver has been recovered and that concluded the rescue operation.
Prosecutor's Office is on the scene now making inquiries from article 155 of the Penal Code - manslaughter.
DO's website has this message:
No factual information has so far been released as to the exact circumstances of the dive.
Two pictures below show the main shaft of the mine entrance (taken from FB pictures of ADDiving):
The following 4 stills from the video from post 1 show some restrictions one could meet there:
The last still shows that the mine structure is indeed worn out:
Prosecutor's Office is on the scene now making inquiries from article 155 of the Penal Code - manslaughter.
DO's website has this message:
No factual information has so far been released as to the exact circumstances of the dive.
Two pictures below show the main shaft of the mine entrance (taken from FB pictures of ADDiving):
The following 4 stills from the video from post 1 show some restrictions one could meet there:
The last still shows that the mine structure is indeed worn out:
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