Three divers lose their lives at Chac Mool in Riviera Maya. 2 Brazillian, 1 Spaniard

[DCCdiver]

Dandy Don, I agree with you, I am brazilian and the news here are reporting that this couple was well educated, she was a doctor and he was a engineer with a master's degree working for a major company, and since here it is mandatory to learn english (and now also spanish) at school, it is very unlikely that lack of communication was a problem.

 

[lamont]

So far I've seen two open water divers coming out of the cave in eden, but that wasn't guided. I haven't seen guided dives involving cavern divers on the cave line. I wouldn't be too surprised it it happens quite a bit, and its just my limited experience (although we're talking about 8 trips down there now I think), but it doesn't happen every day...

 

[Saturation]

..... but as expected, someone else will.

Diving accidents are too sanitized when reported, if the diving public knew what they really appeared to be and what terror it is to drown, they would not take any type of diving for granted.

Its the same way with car accidents, we see them often enough, particularly the severe ones, that responsible drivers pay attention to the road.

< link removed on private request >

There won't be any cavern dives into caves for the near future in Tulum until the memory of this event fades, then the whole cycle begins again. This has been repeated for decades in all cave diving locations.[error corrected] In the past month, an OW diver died in Ginnie Springs. The warning on the cave sign is not enough, but its far better than nothing.

 

[Michael Anthony]

So far I've seen two open water divers coming out of the cave in eden, but that wasn't guided. I haven't seen guided dives involving cavern divers on the cave line. I wouldn't be too surprised it it happens quite a bit, and its just my limited experience (although we're talking about 8 trips down there now I think), but it doesn't happen every day...

While I have not seen it myself, I was told (by a cave certified guide that has worked in the area for years) that it does happen a lot on guided dives.

 

[Bison Ravi]

I read this whole thread and there is a few things I'd like to say.

-On two different trips to playa del carmen I did a few dives in cenotes. The last ones I did were Dos Ojos, El Pit, Gran Cenote and Calaberas. The other ones were over ten years ago, I don't remember the names anymore.

-On ALL these dives, visibility was amazing, except for when we were in the haloclyne or the hydrogen sulfide cloud. There was no or almost no current. The depth was always less than 30 meters, except for El Pit and another one I don't remember the name.

-All dives were less than one hour, and we used AL80 tanks. We had full tanks every time (more than 210BAR).

-Divers were given lights (I had my own). We had one of the dive shop lights fail completely, and one of them intermittently.

-The bottom of the caves had almost no silt, and it would be very really hard to intentionally silt out the cave

-Even in the cavern portion of these dives, sometimes it was not possible to see daylight

-We weren't right on top of the lines all the time, sometimes we were quite far from them but they were easy to see anyways (amazing vis)

-On two of the dives I did a long time ago almost all of the dive was in caves, and in pretty tight tunnels, far from the exit, and a bit deep. (I had very little experience, would not do that again!!!)

-The protocol was always the same on all dives: follow the guide in a row.

-It was not possible to book a cenote cavern dive starting in the afternoon: we were told the light is not good enough.
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That was MY experience in the cenotes. Now here's what I think of this incident:

I can not see how someone experienced like the guide, who has dived that cenote many times could get lost in it and find himself in an out of air situation. The dives are pretty short and shallow, and even with only one AL80 we could have done twice the same dive.

To get lost for that long without finding a line seems to me pretty hard to believe. Even when far from the line I can't imagine a full cave diver would not find a line in one hour.

It's not like they were completely silted out either, or 500m from the exit. Also there are lots of air pockets where they could have tried to breathe from. The only thing I can imagine is that all of their lights failed and that they couldn't see the exit or the lines because they where either out of the cavern zone, or because of the low natural night at that time of the day.

 

[Quero]

The only thing I can imagine is that all of their lights failed and that they couldn't see the exit or the lines because they where either out of the cavern zone, or because of the low natural night at that time of the day.

The recovery diver has said that he found the bodies because he saw a light glowing dimly. By the time they were found, the victims had been in the water for 8 hours, and still at least one light was glowing. After that amount of time, I would expect the batteries of most dive lights to have been exhausted, but a good light with a long burn time, such as a dive pro might have, can continue to function even after such a prolonged period.

 

[JamesK]

I have tried to stay out of this thread, because this practice REALLY pisses me off. I think even the cavern tours, the way they are supposed to be done, are not a good idea. Last time I was in Mexico we saw a group of divers coming out past a warning sign in one of the caves. Sickens me.

I feel horrible for this entire groups family.

-The bottom of the caves had almost no silt, and it would be very really hard to intentionally silt out the cave

The silt on the bottom is not the only thing you must worry about. Simply scraping a wall or rock can silt the place out. I have been lost in a silt out in Mexico that came from someone kicking the wall in a small area. Luckily I was able to find my way out and meet back up with the group. I had to deploy my safety reel and find the line. It's not a fun thing to do.

-Even in the cavern portion of these dives, sometimes it was not possible to see daylight

Then you were no longer in a cavern portion, you were in the cave.

-We weren't right on top of the lines all the time, sometimes we were quite far from them but they were easy to see anyways (amazing vis)

Not a good idea to stray from the line. Just because you can see a line one minute, does not mean you are going to see it the next. If you do not have the training to find a lost line, you could be screwed.

-On two of the dives I did a long time ago almost all of the dive was in caves, and in pretty tight tunnels, far from the exit, and a bit deep. (I had very little experience, would not do that again!!!)

I am glad that you "would not do that again". Your guide should have never taken you there in the first place.

I can not see how someone experienced like the guide, who has dived that cenote many times could get lost in it and find himself in an out of air situation. The dives are pretty short and shallow, and even with only one AL80 we could have done twice the same dive.

We don't know if he got lost, or if one of the tourists wandered off, or if the line was cut as some reports state. I am sure they were scared once their air started getting low. Then they sucked down the tanks even faster. It appears the guide and the female ran out of air at the same place, giving the look that they were sharing air. This along with the fact that the gentlemen had already died I am sure caused even more issues and panic.

To get lost for that long without finding a line seems to me pretty hard to believe. Even when far from the line I can't imagine a full cave diver would not find a line in one hour.

If you have never searched for a lost line, you can not possibly understand.

It's not like they were completely silted out either, or 500m from the exit. Also there are lots of air pockets where they could have tried to breathe from. The only thing I can imagine is that all of their lights failed and that they couldn't see the exit or the lines because they where either out of the cavern zone, or because of the low natural night at that time of the day.

We don't know if they were silted out. We don't know if their lights failed. Air pockets are not in every cave. They were found in the cave, not the cavern zone.

 

[Bison Ravi]

I have been lost in a silt out in Mexico that came from someone kicking the wall in a small area.
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I had the impression they were still in big chambers, just further away from the cavern zone. Do you think it is a probable they were silted out where they were? Honest question, I have never dived that particular cenote.

Then you were no longer in a cavern portion, you were in the cave.


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That was following the line used for the cavern dive. One exemple would be on the way back from the right eye of dos ojos, after the barbie doll. Might not be a cavern anymore, but it's the line used for the cavern tours as far as I know.

Not a good idea to stray from the line. Just because you can see a line one minute, does not mean you are going to see it the next. If you do not have the training to find a lost line, you could be screwed.
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agreed.

I am glad that you "would not do that again". Your guide should have never taken you there in the first place.
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Agreed too. I had only 10 dives at the time. That was before the cenotes were as popular as today, and more people were doing stupid things. That's another problem with these kinds of dives, you follow the guide and hope he knows what he does. Now I know how dangerous that is.

If you have never searched for a lost line, you can not possibly understand. ​

We don't know if they were silted out. We don't know if their lights failed. Air pockets are not in every cave. They were found in the cave, not the cavern zone.

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I think everybody will agree it's not a good idea to go in the cavern zone without training and equipment. I have never lost a line, and that might be like you say why I can not understand how they could have got so lost. He was a trained diver, I'm sure he had a reel, and knew how to find a line. I believe something else happened, what I don't know.
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[wedivebc]

:worship:
Thanks for yet another excellent post.

Diving accidents are too sanitized when reported, if the diving public knew what they really appeared to be and what terror it is to drown, they would not take any type of diving for granted.

Its the same way with car accidents, we see them often enough, particularly the severe ones, that responsible drivers pay attention to the road.


There won't be any cavern dives into caves for the near future in Tulum until the memory of this event fades, then the whole cycle begins again. This has been repeated for decades in all cave diving locations. In the past month, an OW diver died in Ginnie Springs. The warning on the cave sign is not enough, but its the better than not.

 

[dgm]

While I have not seen it myself, I was told (by a cave certified guide that has worked in the area for years) that it does happen a lot on guided dives.

I've done a couple of cenote dives in Chac Mool. 2 different dives as I recall. My question though is really about Dos Ojos and kind of related. A divemaster once took me on a guided dive in Dos Ojos to an area where there was a halocline. Off the bat cave route I think but it's been a while and I'm not 100% sure. I wonder if we were in a prohibited area?

In regards to seeing light as another poster mentioned I have been on guided cenote dives where there was no visible light I'm pretty sure. Even the route back from the second eye to the first eye on the barbie route dive has a few minutes where there is no visible light I believe. A couple of the Hidden Worlds cenote dives definately do although I don't think we were ever too far from access.