Three divers die in a cave accident, Punta Iacco, Palinuro Italy Aug. 2016

[Dan]

I went diving in Chac Mool cenote, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico last week (Aug 14). One of the entrance & exit were zero visibility for 15' (5m) traverse length of the dive due to the muddy water from heavy rains that went into the cenote. Thank God for the guide line for us to follow to the exit.

May be it's about time for some certified cave divers in Palinuro to put such guidelines there, if there are none, to prevent recurrence of divers getting stuck, lost & drown in there.

 

[lv2dive]

Rather than putting lines in cave entrances, which would likely encourage even more people into an environment for which they are not prepared, maybe....

people who aren't trained for overhead environments should not enter them. Period. But, especially:

• at narcosis-inducing depths
• with limited gas supplies.

Guidelines alone will not solve the problem and their presence can give untrained divers a false sense of security.

I went diving in Chac Mool cenote, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico last week (Aug 14). One of the entrance & exit were zero visibility for 15' (5m) traverse length of the dive due to the muddy water from heavy rains that went into the cenote. Thank God for the guide line for us to follow to the exit.

May be it's about time for some certified cave divers in Palinuro to put such guidelines there, if there are none, to prevent recurrence of divers getting stuck, lost & drown in there.

 

[Dan]

Rather than putting lines in cave entrances, which would likely encourage even more people into an environment for which they are not prepared, maybe....

people who aren't trained for overhead environments should not enter them. Period. But, especially:

• at narcosis-inducing depths
• with limited gas supplies.

Guidelines alone will not solve the problem and their presence can give untrained divers a false sense of security.

So, your solution is to put a sign that says do not enter unless you are trained for cave diving?

 

[lv2dive]

What I am suggesting is that your proposed solution could cause more deaths. I'm not saying I have the answers, just that sometimes what appears to be an easy solution can in fact make a bad situation worse.

So, your solution is to leave it alone & let accident to repeat?

 

[Dan]

That sign inside the cenote works for me.

 

[barth]

View attachment 380008

That sign inside the cenote works for me.

People should be carefull and start thinking.

The sign is not a Solution. If there is a cave without that sign they may think it is safe to enter for then ;-).

I think it is easy, do not enter caves unless cave trained and use the right equipment. The same for deep diving. How hard can it be ?!

 

[scubafanatic]

View attachment 380008

That sign inside the cenote works for me.

common sense should be sufficient.

 

[chrisch]

"The Cammardella body was the first to be recovered, yesterday morning around 11. A couple of hours later it was the turn of Mauro Tancredi . The two bodies were close, stuck at the narrowest point of the ladder cave in the rock tunnel that extends for 16 meters and has a width in some places no more than 80 centimeters."

The third missing diver, Silvio Anzola, has still not been found, search was suspended monday evening.

That part of the cave is the deepest and most difficult. If you look at a search engine results for images of the cave it is blue and inviting and there are free divers using it. If you then look at the map all this activity is in the shallow pleasant bit. Right down at the bottom is a difficult cave dive requiring a level of equipment and skill that reflect the serious undertaking. It's close to a sidemount dive.

I cannot imagine what would persuade anyone they can attempt such a dive without proper equipment, training and experience. I have TDI Intro to Cave and I wouldn't attempt this.

The entrance is 40-42m which is just about OK on air in blue warm water. The sump is deeper. Again I wouldn't do that depth in an overhead environment without trimix. Narcosis may not literally be - too much to handle - but it impairs judgement and let's you think you can do something you would not attempt with a clear head.

Condolences to the family - a silly waste of lives IMHO.

 

[Serge Tao]

"Cammardella and Tancredi were found close together, it seems that they were face to face, a position which suggests that one of them was coming back. Anzola's body has not been found in the vicinity of the other two divers as had been expected at first. The situation, at this point, is open to different theories. Tancredi, who had the double tank (two tanks), might be stuck in the tunnel, Cammardella could have made the path backwards to help.The third diver could be left behind in the path ending up in some crevice.
Another theorie is that Cammardella and Tancredi seperated to find Anzola of which they had no trace. The Milan tourist might have had an illness or equipment failure.The two colleagues would be mobilized to find him. They are only theories that will be confirmed after the discovery of Anzola."

source

From my own experience, I know that I get narced after 45m and become really slow in decision making. So for me, this depth is a no-go without He, regardless of an overhead presence. Unfortunately, my experience is also that baseleaders or diveshop owners are at the top of their little pyramid so other employed instructors or divemasters are prudent to question their decisions, especially when it comes to dives beyond rec limits.

 

[gypsyjim]

common sense should be sufficient.

How's that working out.

One problem with relying on common sense to protect us from ourselves is that it is NOT common.