Cave Rescue?

[FF / EMT]

Number of cave rescues is like a single-digit thing.

Tough to teach a class about a thing that’s never done.

They just made a movie on a double digit rescue in Thailand….

 

[PfcAJ]

They just made a movie on a double digit rescue in Thailand….

That’s not really what we’re talkin about here but ok.

 

[kensuf]

I seem to recall a rescue at Alachua Sink. IIRC the diver lost the line somewhere in the cavern and found an air pocket.

Super rare.

That was thunder hole where the person found the air pocket.

The guy that lost in the line in Alachua died, it took several days to find the body. He was an instructor at UFADP, many of the instructors on staff quit cave diving after that. One of my cave diving mentors was his buddy.

 

[kensuf]

Oh I understand that it is quite rare, but I figure having some idea what to do and handle restrictions in the rare event that it happen seems better than trying to wing it.

The problem is almost every single rescue has been unique, if you're ever in that situation you're likely going to have to "wing it" anyway. I was involved in a successful rescue close to 30 years ago, I assure you that the circumstances behind that rescue is not something people would have thought of.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

I have often thought about what does it take to be a diver on a Rescue/Recovery team? How do you as a diver decide if you are mentally ready for the task? For what you would see? Can you shut that off after the Recovery is finished? Then for the physical part, are you fit for the tasks? Then training?

 

[Manatee Diver]

The problem is almost every single rescue has been unique, if you're ever in that situation you're likely going to have to "wing it" anyway. I was involved in a successful rescue close to 30 years ago, I assure you that the circumstances behind that rescue is not something people would have thought of.

My thought is how do you get them out through a restriction and still control the reg. Like through the Keyhole I can stick on them like a barnacle. But the lips seems difficult.

I guess it will probably have to be more of a thought exercise.

 

[Whitrzac]

Has anyone been pulled unconscious out of a cave and lived?

all of these 'rescues' are from someone finding an air pocket

 

[admikar]

I have often thought about what does it take to be a diver on a Rescue/Recovery team? How do you as a diver decide if you are mentally ready for the task? For what you would see? Can you shut that off after the Recovery is finished? Then for the physical part, are you fit for the tasks? Then training?

No

 

[Vicko]

A buddy of mine made a remark that training for a cave rescue is a great setup for a double fatality.
I tend to agree.

 

[Germie]

I took 3 divers out of a cave, but they were not unconsious, they happely found an airpocket. Due to bad viz, current, bad lines, I decided to bring them out 1 by one. But after I went back for the last 2, the viz was not 10 cm anymore, but a m, so I decided I could bring them out together. The only thing after being so long in 6 degrees water is that I peed in my drysuit. But all had a good ending.
Did the divers do anything wrong? No. Someone in front of them broke the line, but did not realise that when he got stucked in the line. The divers behind him all hold the line and followed the line they had in their hand, but did not find their jump back as that was gone due to the broken line. But they followed the line, and the compass said they went in the right direction. The only thing was that this cave has 2 parallel tunnels, and only 1 goes to the exit. They know they needed to find a jump, but that did not came. They did due to stress not feel that the current changed from direction and went from outlfow of the right tunnel to inflow of the tunnel I found them in the airbell. The diver that could exit the cave as first diver paniced when I was looking for the rest. He was not able to do the search due to being on oc. I was on rebreather. I took his half empty cylinders as extra cylinders for the lost divers, at the end only 1 of the 3 divers needed that extra gas.

The biggest discussion to learn from this thing is, is bump and go safer than touch contact? Here there was choosen for bump and go which is faster.

I also had that my own instructor suffered from ipe during a cave dive, so we brought him completely out of the water. But ipe has nothing to do with caves, it is just bad luck. Officially it is no dive illness.