Two German divers drown at Gran Cenote Kalimba at Tulum

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

It would be a super tough decision to abandon, or give gas to your buddy in a cave environment. If you were the surviving diver - guilt or "what if I donated?" - would haunt you for the rest of your life. He/They made the best decision they could under the circumstances. Sad for everyone.

 

[wKkaY]

Here's a different map of the site, with the additional areas. I penciled in the dive in question as well as I could.
View attachment 547512

It looks like gran cenote is 3x further compared to their stages. With the flow on that day, would it have taken more than 3x effort to get to the stages? I'm trying to understand the reason behind changing directions instead of going back to the stages.

 

[PT4476]

Thank you Izze. It's a very well written report. Recommended reading for cave divers of all experience levels.

 

[1atm]

It looks like gran cenote is 3x further compared to their stages. With the flow on that day, would it have taken more than 3x effort to get to the stages? I'm trying to understand the reason behind changing directions instead of going back to the stages.

You know that now, based on a lot of forensic work that went into making the report. It takes a lot of skill and experience to have the awareness where you are in a cave, and how far in terms of gas and time you are from exits, gas sources, etc. It's obviously easier if you know the cave well, but if you are visiting a cave on vacation, it's not that easy. In a cave with a lot of navigational decisions, where you might go out on a different route than you came in, its even harder.

Given the apparent lack of awareness on gas consumption, focus on filming etc, I would guess that they did not know exactly where they were. Time spend during filming may have also skewed the perception on distance. Hence they made the wrong decision about which way might be closer. This might have been amplified by perceptions about flow and size of the passage.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Just wanted to say Thank You to all involved in the recovery, gathering of information, and in the making of the incident report. The report should be required reading for cave divers.

 

[rjack321]

It looks like gran cenote is 3x further compared to their stages. With the flow on that day, would it have taken more than 3x effort to get to the stages? I'm trying to understand the reason behind changing directions instead of going back to the stages.

They were trying to exit at Ho Tul not Grand.

 

[Izze]

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.

I do not know if they held any additional certifications beyond full cave. I think a few people that knew them have checked into this thread earlier and they might have additional information.

 

[Izze]

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

They took turns leading the dive on the way in, alternating between holding the camera and leading. The video might be added taskloading but both would have been capable to lead this relatively simple dive.

Turning the dive without notifying everyone involved on each divers exact gas status is quite common I would say. I note my own and assume that the one who is turning does so on thirds if that was the plan but that is about it. Other are more strict in reporting. Gas status on the turn of the dive is unknown to us for obvious reasons. The discussion is mainly speculation trying to fit a reasonable scenario with the known facts. The original turn of the dive was probably on 5-10 minutes from Ho Tul. When they decided to try and exit that way perhaps 25 minutes at a normal swimming pace.

Whether or not a gas share happened or not is unknown. It is once again speculation based on trying to fit the pieces together.

 

[Izze]

It looks like gran cenote is 3x further compared to their stages. With the flow on that day, would it have taken more than 3x effort to get to the stages? I'm trying to understand the reason behind changing directions instead of going back to the stages.

The map is deceiving. Distance from jump 1 to their stages would be around 20 minutes at a normal pace. Distance to Ho Tul a few minutes more. Given that the way back to Calimba has a few restrictions and a bit of up and down and that the way through Paso de Lagarto is largely flat, large tunnel with the mild flow in that direction I cannot fault them for the decision. In a scenario where I might have to gas share I would definitely head that way*.


*This scenario has the caveat that I know this cave reasonably well and have verified the exit options before. It is not generally applicable.

 

[rjack321]

The original turn of the dive was probably on 5-10 minutes from Ho Tul. When they decided to try and exit that way perhaps 25 minutes at a normal swimming pace.

It's almost like they turned the dive but either: 1) knew they were low on gas but didn't realize how far they were from their stages 2) turned on time or for some other reason and didn't even check their gas.

At the turn they were so close to Ho Tul or Grand they could have safely exited if they hadn't tried to go back towards their stages and Calimba first