The Sa Piqueta Cave Incident | Cave Exploring Gone WRONG

on April 15 2017 two men entered the dark but crystal clear waters of sapic at a cave horrifyingly several hours later only one of them would return this is their story [Music] in the mid-morning of April 15 2017 shisco Gracia and guilla Moscato parked their car and started Gathering up supplies shishko like many of us spent every week looking forward to Saturdays and rarely did a weekend go by without him indulging in his passion as respected 54 year old geology teacher shishka devoted most of his life to collecting and studying rocks but importantly it was how he did those things that gave him purpose you see shishko was a cave diver and that day's trip would take the two of them into portions of a cave that had never been explored before this was one of his all-time favorite things to do in addition to Gathering Rock samples shishko loved to measure map caves and even more than that he loved the idea of being the first human to lay eyes on a Cave's closely guarded secrets and certainly he was in the right place for it because he lived in the island of Mallorca which is the largest of four spanish-owned islands in the Mediterranean these islands are situated about 200 kilometers to the east of Mainland Spain and are a popular holiday spot for vacationing Europeans in the 1950s tours began flock into the island to enjoy the miles of white sand beaches dry Summers and luxurious Resorts it also happens to be the home of more than 200 cave systems and the full Mallorca experience for tourists includes seeing at least one of these caves vacationers tend to visit a showcaves that have lights railings walkways and even gift shops but for those with a taste for adventure Mallorca also has plenty of capes without man-made amenities only a handful of the Island's caves however are reasonably accessible many of these are simply too difficult to reach in the rugged terrain and Jagged Cliffs unless you know where to go and have the right equipment after checking to make sure they have everything they need walk to the mouth of the sapikara cave it was a system that shishko is largely familiar with and in 2006 he was credited with discovering connections between sapikaru and two other nearby cave systems that day the two men plan to dive almost a kilometer from the entrance to measure and map some of the tunnels and Chambers they've discovered like many other caves sapiketa is a mix of dry and underwater sections so after crouching to enter the relatively small Cave opening they would need to walk through one of the dry sections to access the water once they were there they made final preparations secured their air tanks to their backs and then slipped into the water before disappearing below the surface the two men then began swing their way to the first section and ahead of them they saw near perfect conditions as it got darker the further they went from the entrance their flashlights illuminated nothing but crystal clear water head so far it seemed like that day's dive would be similar to hundreds of others the pair had completed it would take about an hour to reach their target section 900 meters from the cave entrance they'd spend another hour exploring then another hour getting back to where they entered the water both open water and Cave divers have to pay close attention to how much air they expected dive to take so they can bring enough air the pair was well aware of this and brought enough tanks to the full trip plus an extra hour for emergency one of cave diving's biggest threats is how quickly visibility can change visibility can go from perfectly clear to zero in an instant this occurs and Waters become what divers call stilted out if they're not careful and disturb the fine sediment lining the walls floors and ceilings open water divers can flutter kick and move around as much as they want but cave divers have to use different techniques to propel themselves these techniques minimize how much they disturb the water and sediment as a result it's normal to stir up some silt during dyes but coming into direct contact with the surrounding Rock create a very dangerous situation if you've ever been driving in fog at night turn on your car's high beams then you have an idea of what being silted out is like light seems to only illuminate the fog and magnifies its thickness removing the ability to see more than a few feet in front of you this is scary enough on the road but similar conditions underwater in a confined space with limited air supply things can quickly get out of control and while they won't clear visibility directly guide ropes become critical in that scenario caves popular with divers often have permanent guidelines fixed from the entrance and through the various corridors and Chambers if a cave doesn't already have one and divers will set their own on the way in often it's just a thin nylon rope with plastic markers to indicate certain conditions ahead or point in the right direction at a fork in a tunnel and most importantly the guideline is always attached to the Cave's entrance and line markers indicate which direction that is in silted out conditions when divers can easily become disoriented without visual cues to help determine up from down the guideline is a literal Lifeline by maintaining a hold on it during a silto divers can work their way back to safety no matter what visibility is like after about an hour of swimming the two men reached their intended destination and began exploring shishko began to collect Rock samples while guillem measured the dimensions of a nearby chamber the two spent their allotted hour exploring before shishiko looked at his dive computer and saw that he'd gone through about a third of his air knowing guillam's air consumption was likely similar shishko estimated that they had enough air for two more hours maybe two and a half tops to keep from needing to use their emergency air tanks they need to wrap things up and head back he eventually met guilleme at a nearby fork in the tunnel and pointed to his air pressure dial indicating it was time to go gam gave him the thumbs up and then they began making their way toward the exit the swim back started in a wide area of the tunnel but as they proceeded the walls began to narrow as The Rock surrounding them got closer and closer became apparent that the conditions they enjoyed on the way down had changed even though they'd been careful to keep from stirring up sediment it seemed that just their presence was enough to completely silt out the route back now this wasn't an unfamiliar scenario for such experienced divers and they knew exactly what to do which was locate the guide rope grabbing onto it the pair began moving hand over hand through the silt as the tunnel got tighter shishko's tanks would drag and catch in the rock walls and this made the silt surrounding them more dense and their visibility was now essentially zero but again as long as they kept in the guide rope they'd be just fine continuing to bring us through the tunnel toward the surface all of a sudden shishko was holding the Frayed End of the guide rope in his hand to their horror somehow it had broken or was cut one of the most dangerous things a diver can counter underwater is another panic diver one hysterical diver puts everyone around them at risk not only do Panic movements make silt outs worse but they can also cause Regulators to be knocked out of metals masks to be ripped off and air to be consumed too quickly calm divers think and react rationally and she's going guien were calm divers at least for the moment after briefly feeling around to see if he could find the other end of the guideline shishko pulled out a laminated map of the cave with just enough visibility to see his friend in the map he looked at guillem and pointed to a nearby tunnel he was certain that it led to one of sabikata's dry Chambers which would contain a breathable air pocket if guillam could find it he could surface there and conserve what was left to his tanks meanwhile shishuku could stay behind to continue searching for the guideline leading out so guilleme turned toward the tunnel and almost immediately disappeared into the silt thankfully after only a short swim he located the chamber and surfaced and sure enough the chamber housed a large air pocket back in the silt though shishko felt around blindly for the section of guide rope attached the cave entrance and in his effort to find it he completely lost track of time when he finally thought to check his air gauge his eyes widened he'd somehow been searching for the Rope for an hour and the physical effort to find it caused him to consume way more air than he intended his supply of emergency air wouldn't even last another hour and a pair of divers were still almost a kilometer from the exit even if he found the Rope right then he wouldn't have enough air to reach the surface shishka knew they were in much more serious trouble now as he started toward the air pocket when he surfaced with the news guillem's heart sank they were now stuck with little chance of being found in an unmapped chamber of a literal underwater maze their only chance of making it out was by figuring out a way out on their own so they got out of the water and pulled out the map thankfully shishka knew of another way out of the cave and since it was far from their way in it was almost certain that conditions on this route would still be clear on top of that it would also have an intact guideline this would have been the perfect solution if not for the fact that their air tanks were already so low even with the air GM saved by waiting in the chamber's air pocket there just wasn't enough both them to make it out now that shishko's emergency supply was depleted shishko thought about it for another moment and realized that that meant that only one of them would be able to leave the cave shishko then explained his plan gem would take all of the remaining air swim the longer route to the surface and then get help he figured that with his stocky build compared to guilla's thin physique guillem would move faster and consume less air than he would he had also spent way more time in dry caves than game so he was more accustomed to breathing the type of air found this deep inside caves then once learning rescue yam would be able to direct divers back to the unmapped chamber and shishka would be out in no time it seemed simple enough but the outcome was far from certain cave diving is normally done in groups of at least two people so low cave diving isn't unheard of but the risk is just that much higher solo divers also have to bring more supplies than dive might call for and tend to dive further from the limits of their equipment with shishko being the more experience of the two and the new way of being more complex than the original win game making to the surface to get help wasn't guaranteed if guillem died on the way back shishka would almost certainly be dead soon after if they stayed together in the chamber and waited to be found they stood even less of a chance of both of them making it alive so they had little choice shishka would stay guillem would go so guillem raided himself for the swim to the surface and soon shishka watched him disappear into the water they didn't make a big deal out of separating before he left but shishko couldn't help but wonder if he'd see his friend again as the last of the bubbles from guillem's tanks broke the surface of the chambers Lake now alone he couldn't dwell on it he needed to turn his attention to survival cave divers travel light so he had few usable supplies with him he had no food and there was no food source inside the chamber he always carried three flashlights on Dives but two of them were dead and a third was almost dead so it was just a matter of time before he'd be in complete darkness thankfully the chamber wasn't completely inhospitable though measuring 80 meters long 20 meters wide with a gap of 12 meters from the water to the ceiling the chamber had plenty of room so the air pocket was substantial there was a flat section of rock where he could lie down and he even found a supply of fresh water the majority of the cave systems underwater tunnels were full of salt water but an unknown source was emptying fresh water into the lake that would remain on the surface by skimming the top layer of the lake with cupped hands shishka could drink all of the water he needed the air inside of the chamber however easily canceled out the extra time hydration provided above ground the air we breathe contains less than half percent of carbon dioxide inside caves though carbon dioxide is the most influential of any gas in fact case exist largely because of carbon dioxide this gas plays a significant role in cave formation and is responsible for creating open spaces and mineral formations it's the whole reason shishiko even had a cave to explore an air pocket to sustain him but while it's great for caves carbon dioxide can be deadly to humans okay there often has a much higher concentration of carbon dioxide than above ground and the further away from the cave entrance the higher the concentration of carbon dioxide air with a carbon dioxide concentration of two percent has little impact outside of a slight decrease in cognitive and motor function but then at as little as three percent concentration carbon dioxide can be lethal and the air that was entering shishko's lungs inside the chamber was saturated with five percent carbon dioxide putting him at significant risk for hypercapnia or carbon dioxide poisoning just moments after guillem left shishko noticed that his breathing was already becoming slightly labored which was one of the first signs of hypercapnia in mild forms carbon dioxide poisoning can cause drowsiness headache dizziness and disorientation but severe hypercapnia though can cause hallucinations paranoia panic attacks and even organ failure brain damage coma and eventually death and while he had been in air this saturated with carbon dioxide before his previous experiences were limited to time frames measured in minutes by then more than an hour had already passed since shishko first surfaced in the chamber and took his first breath from the air pocket to slow the rate of carbon dioxide building up in his blood shishko laid down the chamber's only flat dry surface and focused on holding his breath as long as he could between slow inhales and then in between laying there he moved only to use the washroom to drink water he also kept his last remaining flashlight turned off and turned it on only to get into the water for a drink or to check the time despite feeling the early symptoms of carbon dioxide poisoning shishka was hopeful in his first hours Solitude with nothing to distract himself all he could do was lay there with his thoughts and weight which warped his sense of time causing seconds to seem like hours when he was certain he had been in the chamber for seven or eight hours he checked his dive watch and found only three had passed not long after that his dive watch died entirely As Time continued the Hopi began his ordeal with quickly start to fade completely exhausted by that point shisco tried to find relief in sleep but an intense headache had set in from the growing hypercapnia between aching temples and racing thoughts sleep just wouldn't come then shortly after that a growing dread that guillem didn't make it eventually completely consumed him he was now certain that his dear friend and Only Hope of rescue died on the journey out of the cave as a result he knew the chamber keeping him alive and slowly killing him at the same time would eventually become his final resting place less than an hour after he left the air pocket guillem surfaced where he and shisco entered the water he spit the regulator from his mouth and deeply inhaled the above ground air he had been able to control his breathing during the entire journey to this hog despite his rush to get there but still almost completely used the air remaining in his tanks he quickly got out of the water and rant melt the cave stopping only when he got to the car then he pulled out a cell phone and His Hands shook as he dialed the number to group Nord which is mallorca's official caving organization an hour later the Island's top cave divers were suiting up at the entrance to SA piketta the two divers most familiar with the cave would go in first to attempt to reach shisco's chamber guim pulled out the laminate map shishko had given him and used a waterproof marker to draw Big Red X over the location of the chamber he handed it to the divers and then they turned to enter the cave one of these divers making the attempt was a man named Bernard clamor who is a close friend and had almost as much cave diving experience as shishko knowing that the original route to the chamber was without a guide rope and likely still silted out Bernat started down the tunnel guillem took on his way back two hours later though hina's partner resurfaced with news that the alternate route was also impassable now in his rush to get help guillermit stirred up the silt on his way back and the visibility on that route now was almost zero as well the divers made it just 300 meters in before Bernat couldn't read the markers indicating where to go in a fork he knew diving in those conditions was pointless and an unnecessary risk so they turned back like shishko they would now have to wait for the silt to clear unfortunately cell tilt can take hours or even days to clear back inside the chamber shisco's headache had become even more intense and is breathing more and more labored unable to sleep see or move around much you could only stare into the darkness above him and continue thinking he thought about his mother his 15 year old son and nine-year-old daughter and a sister-in-law battling cancer he even wondered if his ex-wife had been notified yet a year earlier the couple had split in the divorce devastated shishko he wondered if she was worried about him or she even told the kids where their father was he thought about the fact that they were too young to lose their father and he wondered what would happen to them if he was gone then all of a sudden his thoughts were interrupted by Light breaking through the darkness in the lake this was followed by the sound of bubbles like those of a surfacing diver he sat up dizzy from the sudden movement and flicked on his dying flashlight Overjoyed he thought that was it he was going home and he was ready to greet his Rescuers he shined the flashlight around where he thought the bubbles were but there was nothing no bubbles No Light No surfacing diver and no Rescuers shishko was hallucinating one of the sure signs that carbon dioxide poisoning was reaching severe levels reality hit him hard as he laid back down in the rock a little while later he began hearing what sounded like someone drilling into the Rock above him he was sure it was another hallucination but the noise persisted unbeknownst to him this time it was real as attempts to reach him were on hold because of poor visibility the rescue team was able to access a dry area above where they thought shishka was desperate to do anything but sit around wait Rescuers had the idea of drilling a hole into the chamber to at least pass food and water through four time and this seemed like a sign that guillem made it out alive and that help was on the way but the noise suddenly stopped and never restarted Rescuers couldn't get through the Rock and his hopelessness sank to its lowest levels above ground sappikatta's entrance was active divers continued planning police set up tents and barricades to keep a growing crowd in reporters at a distance and Medics weighed to attend to shishko as soon as he made it out it was now 9 30 pm on Sunday night and shishko had been trapped for more than 30 hours the rescue effort was taken over and directed by the Civil guard which is the oldest of Spain's two national police forces after listening to the divers the officer in charge made the call to wait until the next morning to attempt the rescue several of the divers disagreed with the decision with one pointing out that it would be too late by then unfortunately they were at the mercy of slow settling silt unsuccessful attempts to maneuvering it would only prolong the visibility issues keeping them from reaching the chamber below their feet hallucinations intrusive thoughts and the inability to sleep tormented shishko even more he started to wonder how much longer he could last he didn't know what was happening above him if anything at all and he was unsure of how much time had passed since he heard the drilling but it felt like forever and lacking any other sign of potential rescue he questioned whether the drilling noise heard was real after all if it was a hallucination he could be sure that guillem was dead and that he would be next and he wondered how long it would take carbon dioxide and dulled much of his ability to think clearly but he suddenly remembered one of the tools he had stashed in his dive gear on the other side of the chamber he turned on his flickering flashlight and eased himself into the water then he swam over to his gear and patted around when he felt what he was looking for he pulled it out from the gear and paddled back to his Rock and laid down on his chest he held the folded pocket knife he just retrieved in a very real sense it was the only control he had at that moment he was in no rush to use it but if the time came he wanted it nearby late Monday morning divers finally got the okay to resume rescue attempts another set of divers hurried the cave and entered the water with every advancing meter that became more and more hopeful it wasn't completely clear but the silt on the alternate route set enough to see the markers in the guide rope then to remove any potential of getting lost or delayed on the way down on the way back one of the diapers went down the guideline and cut off every offshoot at every Fork that didn't lead to shishko after two hours they resurfaced and reported that they almost made it to the chamber and that visibility was good enough for the next divers to reach him Bernat left to his feet when he heard this and grabbed his tanks within minutes he was underwater following the guide rope straight to the chamber about an hour later he thought to himself that he must be close inside the chamber shishka was reeling from another sleepless night in ever worsening hypercapnia and once again he heard bubbles break in the water surface his last remaining flashlight was dead now so there was no use in reacting to the noise he was sure it was just another hallucination anyway just like before he saw a light flickering across the ceiling of the chamber as Bernat surfaced he was almost certain that he was about to find his friend dead but he pulled himself out of the water and started calling out anyway shisco's hallucinations hadn't called his name before nor did any of them sound like or not still he sat up expecting another disappointment but when he saw Bernat walking towards him hallucination or not he jumped to his feet and hugged him as hard as he could this was as much out of excitement as it was to be sure that Bernat wasn't another hallucination finally satisfied that he was real shishiko's first question was about Guin Bernat smiled and told him that guillem was alive and waiting for him on the surface unfortunately though Bernat couldn't bring him back right away instead he handed shishko some glucose gel packets to restore some of his energy and the two continued talking so Bernat could gauge his condition once he knew shishka was mentally fit to take the long trip back he asked if he could wait a little bit longer Bernat would then return to the surface and let the team know shishika was alive the next divers would be right behind with air tanks and they'd guide him out four hours after bernat's visit the next Evers arrived and they brought air tanks films nitrox which is a mixture of nitrogen and twice the oxygen of above ground air shishiko then put the regulator in his mouth and took the first deep breath you've been able to take in days finally the brain fog cleared and the brutal headaches started to ease then eager to escape and physically ready for him told his friends he was ready to go at 11 10 pm on Monday night after 60 hours trapped in the chamber shishka walked out of sapikata under his own power the crowd that gathered erupted in cheers and as promised guillem was right there waiting for him the two embraced for a moment but they didn't have time to talk despite appearing to be okay shishko needed immediate medical attention and was taken away in an ambulance on top of dangerous levels of carbon dioxide still in his blood his internal temperature had dropped to 32 Celsius or 90 Fahrenheit he was at risk of hypothermia but miraculously again after just one night in the hospital breathing pure oxygen shishko was well enough to go home the day after his rescue he watched the TV coverage of the rescue operation and burst into tears he was just overcome with gratitude for these 60 Rescuers who worked around the clock to get him out of the KO live now you might expect this cave diving experience to be shishko's last but he never once considered giving up his hobby just one month after the incident he even returned to sapikara and visited the chamber that held him prisoner for almost three full days his dive since being trapped haven't been without instant either unfortunately in 2022 he was involved in a cave dive that turned into a strangely reminiscent situation shishko and two other divers were exploring one of mallorca's other cave systems when one of the divers was separated from the group during a Silton desperate and running out of air the diver found a chamber with an air pocket and waited until he could be rescued when the diver was rescued just seven hours later he jokingly asked Rescuers what took them so long as a final note among the divers of group Nord the group which rescued shishko it's a tradition for the first diver to explore a new cave or section to name it although guilleme may have been the first to see the chamber the honor of naming it was given to shishko he took stock of everything he overcame during those 60 hours and the way he saw his survival was a product of three Miracles the first was finding a chamber with air in it the second was surviving so long breathing such toxic air and the final one was escaping the cave with his life today the chamber that trapped him is known as the room of three miracles hello everyone my name is Sean and welcome to scary interesting if you have a story suggestion feel free to submit it to the email found in the description or to the scare interesting subreddit we now also have a scary interesting Discord which I will link in the description if you use Discord and want to check it out thank you all so much for watching and hopefully I will see you in the next one

Channel: Scary Interesting

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Id: KCpsjx3WlsI

Length: 23min 8sec (1388 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 02 2023