Yet Another Cave Death
Glawackus
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 <New York> -- 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.'' <The sump is not entirely the result of
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. <These would be mostly local cavers with no cave diving experience;
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. <AFAIK it's been about 25 years since any cave death in New York. I
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
generate discussion.
Paul Schilter
Sorry to hear about this death. My condolences to you as you said you
knew the deceased. I know when I came to someone else's assistance in a car
accident that they didn't survive it weighed heavily on me for a while.
Kind of hits close to home.
Paul
"Glawackus" <glaw...@aol.competent> wrote in message
news:20010227220924...@ng-mi1.aol.com...
NE333RO
>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.
Probably just as well you can't make it. This whole thing from the
beginning through the recovery sounds like a CF. I'd have to pass on that one.
Glawackus
>Probably just as well you can't make it. This whole thing from the
>beginning through the recovery sounds like a CF. I'd have to pass on that
>one.
This is sort of like the bumper stickers about a bad day of fishing being
better than a good day at work, only backwards. Even a bad day at work beats
carrying a body out of a cave; as such I had a good day.
I got a call from one of the captains of the cave rescue team at 11:15 tonight,
which was just about as soon as she got home (which is about 40 minutes from
the cave). She was notified as part of the initial call-out around 9:30 Monday
night, and returned home about 3AM, was back for most of Tuesday and all day
today. I'm not sure about the schedules of the sheriff's people.
As it turns out, except for taking place in a cave, this barely qualified as a
cave dive. It started at the lake in the back end of the cave, where there is a
15 or 20 foot high ceiling above the lake. As such a dive that stayed in the
lake is "only" a cavern dive. The feet of the deceased were visible from the
lake room, so he was literally only a few feet into the passage, and his
maximum depth was probably no more than 8 to10 feet. If they hadn't been
confronted with the debris they were attempting to clear perhaps they would
have attempted a penetration, but as is they mostly stayed within the lake,
only reaching into the passage to pull stuff out. They were about ready to call
it a night when the deceased decided to just "have a peek," since they had
apparently cleared the entry to the constriction. Since it took many hours of
work to free the body from the constriction the peek must have allowed him to
get stuck pretty thoroughly. As it happens there was an incident with a caver
entrapment in another area cave in July '98 that was quite similar, except that
caver wasn't stuck under water. It took 33 hours to get him extricated, plus
another 9 until he reached the surface (including a good long nap before
starting out). In the current incident, part of the problem may have been that
the deceased was an experienced caver who had been in many tight places before
. I suspect that the group also didn't consider what they were doing to be a
cave dive.
The local fire department placed a couple of large trash pumps in the lake and
were able to pump it out in about 4 hours, permitting far easier access, as
well as dramatically increasing the available labor pool. Until Wednesday
morning the recovery efforts of available divers was apparently pretty much
limited to pulling on the feet. I guess that at least indicates that the local
dive rescue teams have developed a good degree of respect for cave diving.
Here's an article from Wednesday morning. Like the previous article it comes
from the Albany Times -Union. There are some inaccuracies in the article,
including a real whopper about half way through; I'm trying to envision the
misunderstood explanation that produced it. DO NOT drink anything while reading
it.
==============
By ROMA KHANNA and BRUCE A. SCRUTON, Staff writers
First published: Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Diver's body trapped in cave
New Scotland -- Workers plan to drain pool-sized area to free student's
body
Despite the efforts of nearly a dozen divers, often using pry bars, the body
of an RPI student remained trapped Tuesday night in Clarksville Cave, and
rescuers now plan to empty the lake so they can chip his body free.
Divers dipped into the 40-degree water time and again Tuesday, trying to free
the body of Robert Svensson from the 18-inch-wide underwater passage where the
23-year-old native of Sherborn, Mass., became trapped Monday evening as he and
three others explored the cave.
About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the tired crews of divers were pulled out of the
cave and other workers moved in to set up pumps, hoping to lower the water
level in an area about the size of a backyard pool so they can complete their
task.
Svensson and his companions, Joseph Baj, 24, of Ozone Park, Queens, Michael H.
Chu, 22, of Niskayuna, and Jonathan R. Allison, 23, of Troy, entered the cave
at the Ward Entrance, just off Route 443, at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
The group's destination was the far end of the cave known as Pauley Avenue, a
180-foot-long, inclined passage that is filled with water except for the last 2
to 3 feet. The only access is through a hole in the bottom of the lake in the
Lake Room. The nearly 1,000-foot underground route to the Lake Room is a
45-minute trek through narrow passageways and large, house-sized rooms. <well,
one large room, anyway>
"There are areas that are dry and large enough to stand up in there,'' said
Keith Leonard, captain of the Onesquethaw Fire Department. "And there are areas
that are under water or where you have to exhale just to squeeze through.''
As described by Deputy Sheriff John Layton, who has been to the bottom of the
pool and tried to retrieve the body, once through the seven-foot-long tube
where Svensson's body is trapped, the passage widens out enough so someone can
turn around.
The rest of Pauley Avenue is a 180-foot incline, all underwater, with nothing
at the end. "You have just enough room to stick your head out of the water,
take a deep breath and go back,'' said Layton, who said he has never been to
the end.
The group apparently found the underwater entranceway was clogged with silt and
other debris. Each tried to clear the spot. Then Svensson, equipped with a
small air tank and wet suit, plunged into the cold water, unwilling to accept
defeat.
On this last trip, Svensson somehow got wedged in the seven-foot-long,
twisting tunnel. Unable to move forward or back out, he apparently died when
his air supply ran out.
Layton described that first part of the Pauley Avenue trip: "Imagine crawling
along the foundation wall of a house, then having to get down into a well and
through the basement window -- all the time having no more than two feet to
work in,'' Layton said.
"We know he's caught at the hips. We don't know about the shoulders because we
can't reach up that far,'' he continued. In addition to the wet suit, the
deputy said Svensson has a narrow belt around his hips.
Svensson was using a "pony bottle'' -- a small air tank about the size of a
fire extinguisher -- for his air supply. During their initial rescue efforts,
his friends attempted to pass him additional air before calling for help.
The divers brought in for the recovery worked until early Tuesday morning,
when they were brought out of the cave about 1:30 a.m. They returned later in
the morning, trying and reviving plans as each effort proved ineffective.
The "lake'' in the Lake Room is about 7-to-9-feet deep and about 15-to-20-feet
across. With all that water, the recovery crew is, in effect, trying to empty a
backyard swimming pool while, at the same time, several garden hoses are trying
to fill it up at about 50 gallons per minute.
"It looks like we'll have to use two pumps,'' said Adam Hornick of the
Onesquethaw Fire Department. "One, we're hoping, will even off what's flowing
in, and the other will be emptying.''
To do the pump-out, the crews are using a natural opening from outside to the
Lake Room about 25 feet up in the ceiling. Just after dark and after divers had
made a last attempt to free the body, a crew was working to enlarge the
opening, which has filled in over the years.
Special hydraulic pumps will then be lowered to the shoreline of the
underground lake. The drain lines will be going straight up, at least 25 feet,
explained Hornick, which will cut the efficiency of the pumps. < Don't try to
drink anything while you're reading this next line...> Also, because the lake
is underground, there is increased air pressure, which also reduces the pump
outflow.
Once the lake level is reduced, workers can get to the opening to Pauley
Avenue and chip away at the rock and slate walls where Svensson was trapped.
Svensson was an experienced outdoorsman whose activities included rock climbing
and skiing, but was not a certified diver, according to Brian Chouiniere, who
teaches diving courses at RPI. Svensson had completed an open-water diving
course taught by Chouiniere in December but had not yet completed the final
elements of the course that would have given him open-water certification.
"He had some experience with open-water diving but he was in no way qualified
to dive in a cave,'' Chouiniere said.
At least two of Svensson's companions, Baj and Allison, had completed
open-water diving courses with Chouiniere.
Friends and family of Svensson kept a tearful vigil near the scene. As they
awaited word of the recovery, the group consoled each other and walked along
the country road near the cave to pass the time.
Meghan Lord, a friend of Svensson's, arrived at the scene before 9 a.m.,
shortly after her father found out about the incident from the morning news,
because she wanted to be sure someone was on hand when his body was recovered.
Lord said Svensson, who taught undergraduates and wanted to be a professor, had
a great interest in caving and spent a lot of time exploring and mapping caves
around the area.
"This was not just an extreme sport to him,'' she said. "He took it
seriously.''
Local residents believe this may be the first fatality in at least a half
century at the cave, a popular attraction for cavers from around the region.
The cave is also used for training the Albany County Sheriff's Department.
"People are in this cave 24 hours a day, seven days a week,'' said Leonard,
who lives across the street from the main entrance. "No matter what time I come
home, I see lights around it. I see charter buses and cars with license plates
from Tennessee to Vermont up here.''
============
HLAviation
>drink anything while you're reading this next line...> Also, because the lake
>is underground, there is increased air pressure, which also reduces the pump
>outflow.
>
Interesting. Not only is the basal assumption incorrect, but the effect
achieved by that assumption if true is also incorrect. Mathmatically they must
be correct though because two negative = positive. =;)
Icarus (Dennis)
If you would, please keep the like which indicates who wrote the message
to which you're replying.
Thanks.
Dennis
HLAviation <hlavi...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010301030900...@ng-fs1.aol.com...
HLAviation
> If you would, please keep the like which indicates who wrote the message
>to which you're replying.
>
This newsreader (aol) doesn't quote that way. The only time I get those little
things is if it appears in the previous quote. Sorry. If you know how to
enable that feature on this reader, I'd be glad to enable it.
Icarus (Dennis)
I've no idea how to enable that, as I don't use AOL.
Thanks anyway though.
Dennis
Gary Warner
I assume you are all reading this with an intended meaning like: The air
pressus *in-the-cave* would be higher. That, as you say, is not only
incorrect - but also if it were true would actually help, not hinder, the
pump outflow.
I wonder if maybe the origional author was thinking that because the
cave/lake is even lower than ground level that the total air pressure it is
pushing up against is higher. Of course this too would be mostly
meaningless because the difference is only a few feet of air - but at least
technically it would be correct.
Glawackus
>Also, because the
>lake
>> >is underground, there is increased air pressure, which also reduces the
>pump
>> >outflow.
>I wonder if maybe the origional author was thinking that because the
>cave/lake is even lower than ground level that the total air pressure it is
>pushing up against is higher. Of course this too would be mostly
>meaningless because the difference is only a few feet of air - but at least
>technically it would be correct.
The outflow ends of the hoses were on the surface, roughly 50 feet above lake
level. That means that increased air pressure would actually help raise the
water, since the pressure at the outflow end would be lower.
I suspect that somebody explained that the pumps had to be in the cave because
a vacuum pump on the surface couldn't raise water the necessary 50 feet. That
could have led to a mention of air pressure pushing the water up and into the
vacuum, rather than the vacuum pulling the water up. That leads easily to the
idea that, because of air pressure, the pumps have to work harder. To a
reporter with no concept of how such things work, the increased air pressure
because it's an underground lake probably comes easily.
The more I'm exposed to the news media's errors about subjects I'm familiar
with the more I wonder how many errors I don't catch about subjects with which
I'm not familiar.