Diver dies whereas navigating well-known cave diving location in Florida | EUROtoday

A scuba diver died whereas navigating an intricate community of caves within the Florida Panhandle that reach a whole bunch of toes beneath the floor, officers stated.

A rescue mission was launched for 3 people after the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office stated it was notified of overdue divers at Twin Caves in Jackson Blue Springs Park, 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee, at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Deputies stated that two divers made it from the cave safely within the rescue operation, which additionally concerned Jackson County Fire and Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and the employees at Cave Adventures.

“Sadly, the operation led to the recovery of a third diver that was deceased,” the sheriff’s workplace wrote in a press release early Tuesday night.

A health worker is working to find out the diver’s reason for loss of life, officers stated.

open picture in gallery

Edd Sorenson, an skilled in dive rescues and restoration who owns Cave Adventures, was about 50 miles away in Vortex Springs when one of many divers contacted him to say that two members of their occasion have been lacking within the water.

According to Cave Adventures’ web site, passages within the Twin Caves prolong a whole bunch of toes beneath.

Sorenson advised WKRG that one among his instructors, Mehdi Zinetti, was on the location. Sorenson stated that Zinetti, who started the seek for the deceased diver, had by no means achieved an energetic physique restoration mission earlier than Tuesday.

Sorenson stated circumstances on the caves have been clear, with greater than 100 toes of visibility on Tuesday morning when the divers started their descent. After getting into the water, Zinetti was in a position to find one of many lacking divers and safely carry her to land.

He continued to seek for the third diver within the water however bought out a couple of minutes later.

“He thought since he had to go multiple directions, maybe he missed him, and maybe he’s out safe. So he exited and he wasn’t there yet. So he went back in again,” Sorenson stated. When he couldn’t discover the diver on land, Zinetti bought again within the water.

Sediment was stirred up by divers through the day, making visibility almost unimaginable.

open picture in gallery

Zinetti ultimately discovered the sufferer and pulled them out, he added.

When Sorenson arrived again on the facility, he stated the Florida Fish and Wildlife was there, and CPR efforts had been made. However, the diver was pronounced lifeless on the scene.

Sorenson advised the native information station that he would look at the diver’s tools, analyze the video, and conduct one other stock spherical to find out what went fallacious earlier than alerting deputies of any findings.

Sheriff Donnie Edenfield thanked all these concerned within the rescue efforts and urged residents to “keep the families of the divers in your thoughts and prayers.”