Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The five Italian divers who died in a cave in the Maldives may not have been trained for such dives or had the appropriate equipment, according to cavers interviewed.
| Caves are dangerous, even more when they’re under water. Since I never got past sport diver certification, and am not more than a middling swimmer, I’ve never been tempted to dive in one. |
Speleologist Alexey Shelepin explained that cave diving uses a khodovik—a rope on a reel that helps find its way back. He said the deceased didn't have one, and their equipment, judging by the evidence, looked more like standard open-water gear.
| Idiots. When unexpected death is a real possibility, don’t stint on safety gear. |
"They most likely just messed things up, couldn't find the exit, couldn't find the line. And they were simply disoriented due to a lack of specific training," caver and diver Lyubov Gomareva noted in an interview with RBC.
She also admitted that improper gas selection, oxygen intoxication, or nitrogen intoxication could have played a role. She added that the long fins the Italians were wearing, judging by the photos, are unsuitable for cave diving: they stir up sand and significantly reduce visibility.
| Darwin always wins. Don’t give him better odds. |
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