words per minute
10
Shekharkulhari
00:00
Speed
In September of 2018, a team of explorers, including photographers Robbie Shone and Jeff Wade, descended into Veryovkina Cave in the Caucasus Mountains, the deepest cave on Earth. They were accompanied by the Perovo Speleo Club, a team of experienced cavers who had explored the cave before. The plan was to collect samples of potentially undiscovered species and explore some of the promising horizontal passages at the bottom of the cave.
After four days of descending and climbing, the team reached camp 6 at a depth of 6,900 feet. However, while they were there, a massive storm on the surface caused a flood pulse that sent thousands of liters of water rushing into the cave. Despite the team's efforts to communicate wirelessly, the thick layers of rock in the cave prevented them from getting a message to the surface about the flooding.
After half an hour, the team heard the first sound of water approaching, starting off as a faint rumble that grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. The water was rising so fast that one of the team members noticed it gurgling up from a small hole near the tent. The team member looked back at Robbie, who knew they needed to leave right away.
Robbie made the tough decision to leave all of his camera equipment and personal items behind, knowing that he couldn't risk being slowed down. As the team climbed up the ropes, they encountered a narrow traverse that went along one wall, where the chamber beside it was 60 feet wide before the flooding. The water was coming down so hard that it felt like it was crushing and suffocating them. Robbie was concerned by the volume and speed of the water rushing in, but the spot they were in was completely dry.
As the cave continued to shake around them, they occasionally looked down over the edge into the abyss. They saw a single headlamp slowly making its way up the shaft and realized it was Andrey. After he climbed up into camp, they asked him if he had seen the others, and he just shook his head silently. All of the deeper passages were completely submerged in water, and the team narrowly escaped with their lives.
Eight months later, the Perovo team returned to continue their work in Veryovkina Cave. However, halfway into the deepest cave on Earth, they found the badly decomposed body of a man named Sergei, who had died while attempting a solo expedition into the cave. Despite how many people were involved in the rescue, they still ended up having to cut Sergei into pieces to remove him from the cave.
The incident is a reminder of the dangers of exploring deep caves and the importance of proper equipment and safety protocols.