Two German divers drown at Gran Cenote Kalimba at Tulum

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

If possible - for clarity - add wording for "Lithium Sunset", "Paso de Lagaerto" ,Cuzan Nah, to both maps.
Thanks

 

[rjack321]

Here is the report. I'll be around a bit to answer questions if they pop up. I do not normally frequent scubaboard much so if you do not get a reply quote me in the thread or send a pm so I get a notification.

thanks for writing this up. It must have been hard reviewing all the video with an eye towards understanding where they were and the direction of travel at any given moment

 

[wnissen]

Here is the report. I'll be around a bit to answer questions if they pop up. I do not normally frequent scubaboard much so if you do not get a reply quote me in the thread or send a pm so I get a notification.

That's quite sobering. No equipment malfunction, no navigational error per se, they even made a reasonable plan under the circumstances to try for the downstream cenote. I learned something about the rule of thirds, as well. Thanks for the report.

 

[jstrang]

Excellent report.

I do wonder if there should be a special rule about using video equipment in a cave.
Like only dive to 1/4s, only use if you have over 100 cave dives, only use if you dove the cave before. Ideally use video in a team of 3.

I have about 100 hours in Mexico caves and over 100 hours in Florida, and I would not bring a camera in - it's just too much for a tourist cave diver like myself.
I'm happy if someone with more experience and skill is shooting!

 

[FreeFlyFreak]

Here is the report. I'll be around a bit to answer questions if they pop up. I do not normally frequent scubaboard much so if you do not get a reply quote me in the thread or send a pm so I get a notification.

Absolutely excellent report, no wonder it took so long to prepare.
Very thorough.
Thanks for posting it.

 

[rjack321]

Excellent report.

I do wonder if there should be a special rule about using video equipment in a cave.
Like only dive to 1/4s, only use if you have over 100 cave dives, only use if you dove the cave before. Ideally use video in a team of 3.

I have about 100 hours in Mexico caves and over 100 hours in Florida, and I would not bring a camera in - it's just too much for a tourist cave diver like myself.
I'm happy if someone with more experience and skill is shooting!

I usually just model too, although I have occasionally filmed. For serious movie making or stills having a dedicated safety diver is a worthy addition. There is certainly "pressure" and competition in the facebook era to make stunning movies and pictures which IMHO is unhealthy and leads to distracted diving.

 

[JohnnyC]

I doubt special gas rules for photography or videography would make much of a difference in most cases since every dive may be different. I think a far better solution is a well-defined set of roles whenever the intention is to film/survey/etc.

Camera guy is camera guy. That's it. Pressure and camera, that's his sole responsibility. Non-camera diver drives the dive. Non-camera diver is responsible for leading, for navigational decisions, for proper use of lines and markers, etc. Pressure and the safety of the team. That's their responsibility, and the only responsibility.

As soon as your role starts to deviate, you begin to make mistakes. With one person in charge whose sole focus is the safety of the team, the, "oh we missed the jump because we were passing the camera back and forth" stuff goes away.

They were so close to making it out. It's a damn shame.


Thanks for the well-done report guys.

 

[kafkaland]

Thank you for preparing this report. In some way it is unsettling, and saddening. No major navigational errors, equipment failures, or such. Just dubious gas planning (were they stage certified, or just full cave?) and then apparently a major lack of awareness of gas pressure, perhaps due to filming, until it was too late. Complacency or a lack of focus on the dive seems to be the main cause here.

 

[kafkaland]

If possible - for clarity - add wording for "Lithium Sunset", "Paso de Lagaerto" ,Cuzan Nah, to both maps.
Thanks

Here's a different map of the site, with the additional areas. I penciled in the dive in question as well as I could.

 

[Hiszpan]

Interesting that:

- looks like Diver 2 was leading the dive though he was less experienced (his cookie on the T)?

- they didn't choose to go straight to Ho-Tul at the turn, after identifying one of them has pushed beyond the thirds (they turned because Diver 2 saw that he's beyond thirds). Is it common to just "turn" the dive without actually informing a buddy of the gas at the turn point?

Regardless, Diver 1 is a hero to me, probably in the hindsight knowing that sharing his gas means he's not coming out