I just found out about another diver death in a cave. The article below came
from one of the (dry) caving mailing lists; I don't know what the source of the
article is (it was sent by somebody from New Jersey). Since the cave is mostly
above water, and I've been there many times I can at least correct a few errors
in the article; anything in brackets <> will be my comments, and I'll have more
after the article.

======

By BRUCE A. SCRUTON, Staff writer
Last updated: 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001
Divers enter cave to recover body
RPI student dies in underwater tunnel

NEW SCOTLAND -- An RPI graduate student who wanted one more try at
clearing an underground, underwater tunnel apparently became caught in the
20-inch opening and died when his air supply ran out, officials said early this
morning.

Robert Svensson, 23, was studying computer science at RPI. His hometown is
Sherborn, Mass., between Boston and Worcester.

Divers called off their search after several hours but returned later this
morning to Clarksville Cave in an effort to recover the body.

Svensson was among three students from the Troy school who went to the cave
Monday afternoon. Experienced divers, the trio planned to use an underwater
passage from one part of the cave to another. The passage dips down from one
level and then back up into another room in the complex just off Route 443.

It is that U-shaped < it's a sump; U-shaped refers to crosss section along the
long axis of the passage> area that collects snow-melt and runoff from the
Heldeberg Mountains and is always full of water.

Albany County Deputy Chief Craig Apple said divers who went into the
water-filled tube encountered near zero visibility because of the darkness
and the amount of silt in the water. ``There's no current to move stuff
away, so it all settles in there; very fine silt. As soon as they (divers)
touch the water, it gets stirred up.'' water ponding in a low spot. It is simply one part of the stream that flows
through most parts of the cave; currently the flow rate may be pretty low.>

The Lake Room is about 1,000 feet from one of the entrances to the cave, a
trip that takes about 45 minutes one-way crawling through openings that are
sometimes 18 inches wide. .``There's house-size rooms in there, too, and
that's the appeal (of exploring the cave),'' Apple said. < There is perhaps 100
yards worth of low crawl about 18 inches high; the only thing less than a few
feet wide on the route to the Lake Room is the entrance, which is a roughly
circular hole about 20 inches across. The "Big Room" is about 40 feet across
and 15 feet high; it's apparently the main appeal for people who just want to
sit in the cave and drink their beer in the summer.>

The two remaining students told investigators that all three were
experienced divers and dragged their equipment, including small air
cannisters, from the entrance to the water's edge in the Lake Room.

There, when they encountered the blocked passage and could not get through
to the other parts of the cave, they decided to take turns trying to clear
the limbs and collected debris.

"They were down there for about an hour-and-a-half and were getting
tired," Apple said. "They decided to call it quits and he (victim) said he
wanted to give it one more try."

"He went back down and after a period of time, a column of bubbles
emerged.That was the last they saw of him," he said.

The pair told officers they went into the water and tried to pull their
friend out, but he was caught. "They did manage to push him forward some,
but they couldn't get him out. He was tangled on the bend somehow," Apple
said.

The two then had to make the 45-minute crawl back to the entrance and run
through some woods to get help. Officials got the 911 call about 9 p.m.

Divers from both the Albany County Sheriff's Department and the Albany
County Dive Team were called to the cave, along with specially-trained
volunteers who have made dozens of rescues from the surrounding caves over
the years. many of the cavers as well as several local volunteer firemen have attended a
weekend orientation to basic cave rescue; a few of the local cavers have
substantial experience at cave rescue. AFAIK none of the local dive rescue
people have cave training.>

Albany County Undersheriff John R. Mahan said this is the first death he can
remember in an Albany County cave in the 25 years he has been with the
department. believe there was a death while doing vertical work in a nearby cave around the
mid to late 70's, and a caver was crushed by falling ice at another Albany
County cave in '76. There would have been at least two more cave diving deaths
in still another Albany County cave in '91 when students from the Syracuse
University Outing Club were trapped by a flood. Rescue divers (with no cave
training) were just about to enter a normally dry cave when a member of the
cave rescue team showed up and convinced them they would die if they entered.>

Working in two-man teams, the 10 divers took turns dipping into the frigid
waters of the tunnel. While the air temperature in the cave remains about 55
degrees year-round, the water temperature is in the low 40s, the two
officers said.

"The tunnel where Svensson's body is trapped is only about 18-24 inches in
diameter and, with his body in that space too, there's not much room
to work," Apple said.

After several hours of work, the divers still could not free the body, Apple
said. About 1:30 a.m. today, the decision was made to bring the divers out
of the cave.

"We're going to get them some rest, discuss this, and come up with a
different plan in the morning," Apple said.

=============

I'm not sure what that plan is, but at 8:30 this evening I was invited to help
with the body recovery by a member of the cave rescue team. I was told that
they were planning on lowering the water level with pumps. While not big enough
for people, there is a small entrance just above the Lake Room. The fire
department has run electric lines in through this entrance for past cave
rescues. From my invitation to the recovery (I have no cave diving training)
and the article above I believe the diver may have been right at the beginning
of the sump; if so a drop in water level of a few feet would possibly allow
access without dive gear. OTOH, the sump is a resurgence, so blockage by debris
other than rock suggests that they were working on the far side of the
restriction. I played sherpa for a sucessful sump penetration around the late
80's, but don't remember details about the sump other than it never got more
than perhaps 10 feet deep, but is several hundred feet long.

I've met the deceased in the past, and know one of the people who was
supposedly one of the other divers. AFAIK, the latter is indeed an experienced
diver and an experienced dry caver, but if he had any cave diving training I
never heard about it. I was told that they all asked for dive gear for
Christmas and got it, which suggests that some of the gear was new. As my
contact said, how many 23 year old college students can pay for the cave
training and buy the gear?

Work will prevent me from helping with the recovery (unless it's still
underway late in the day), but I should be pretty much in the loop on this, so
I'll provide more info as I get it.




Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact. Or it might just be to