North America diving accidents archive

Death in the Devil’s System: Mike Schultz’s Final Dive at Ginnie Springs

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident location (country, town/city/region, cave name) Diver full name (deceased) United States, Ginnie Springs near High Springs (Florida), Devil’s System Mike Schultz It was April 3, 2016.The water at Ginnie Springs, Florida, was calm and clear, its surface hiding one of the most famous — and dangerous — underwater cave systems in the world: The […]

The Fatal Solo Dive of Playa del Carmen’s Young Diver in Sistema Dos Ojos

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location (Country, Region, Cave Name) Diver Full Name Mexico, Playa del Carmen, Sistema Dos Ojos Unknown (Young Male Diver) On the morning of 28 April 2015, a young man from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, set out for what should have been a routine dive. He rented a single SCUBA tank filled with normoxic […]

Trapped in Devil’s Eye Spring: The Last Dive of Robert Jurich

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location (Country, Region, Cave Name) Diver Full Name (Deceased) USA, Florida, Devil’s Eye Spring Robert Jurich 26 April 2015 it was supposed to be a smooth dive.On a clear Florida morning, Robert Jurich (68) and Evelyn Dudas, both experienced divers from Pennsylvania, prepared their diving gear at Devil’s Eye Spring. Their goal was ambitious: […]

Lost in Sistema Camilo: The Final Dive of Keith Price

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident location (country, town/region, cave name) Diver full names Mexico, Quintana Roo, Sistema Camilo (Cenote Muchachos) Keith Price It was a calm Wednesday afternoon, 25 February 2015, in Quintana Roo when three experienced divers began their first dive of the trip. Team members: At approximately 1400 hours, the group entered Cenote Muchachos, one of the […]

Beneath the Surface: The Tragic Dive of Lance Crawford and the Perils of Alachua Sink

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Names USA, Florida, Alachua Sink Lance Crawford, John Picture it: the sun beating down on white sandy beaches, palm trees swaying in the warm breeze, and tourists flocking to Florida for some fun in the sun. But beneath the surface of the crystal clear water lies a whole other world – one […]

Tragic Dive at Cenote Manatí: Mystery Surrounds Fatal Accident of Unnamed Diver

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Full Name Mexico, Tulum, Yucatan Peninsula, Cenote Manatí Unknown On June 16, 2018, what was meant to be a safe, beginner-friendly scuba diving experience near Tulum, Mexico, ended in disaster. A young diver participating in a Discover Scuba program drowned after becoming trapped inside an underwater cave at Cenote Manatí. The incident […]

Underwater Cave Expedition Turns Deadly: The Mysterious Tragedy of Tytoona’s Sump 2

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Names USA, Pennsylvania’s Blair County, Tytoona Cave John Schwein, Roberta Schweisgood Two NSS certified cave divers went on an exploratory dive at the Tytoona Cave to carry out a series of survey dives. They took turns solo diving due to the silty condition of the cave. However, an entanglement occurred in the […]

Tragedy at Eagles Nest: Charles Odom’s Final Dive in Florida’s Most Dangerous Cave

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Full Name USA, Weeki Wachee, Florida, Eagles Nest Cave Charles Odom On January 8, 2017, Charles Odom, 55, joined three other divers at Eagles Nest Cave, located in Weeki Wachee, Florida. Known in the diving community as the “Mount Everest of cave diving,” Eagles Nest is a complex system with deep vertical […]

The Underwater Cave Accident: Donald Cerrone’s Harrowing Ordeal

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Names Mexico, Cozumel, Aerolito Cave Donald Cerrone, Alex Donald’s Background and Adventures Donald Cerrone was diving through Aerolito Cave in Cozumel, Mexico when something went horrifyingly wrong. Donald Cerrone was born in Denver, Colorado on March 29th, 1983. Growing up, Donald was considered a bit of a troubled child. As a teenager, […]

Trapped in Mill Pond Cave: Josh Bratchley’s 24-Hour Ordeal

Categories: Cave diving, North America diving accidents

Incident Location Diver Full Name USA, Jackson County, Tennessee, Mill Pond Cave Josh Bratchley An Elite Diver in a Treacherous System On April 16, 2019, a team of British cave divers descended into the murky depths of Mill Pond Cave in Jackson County, Tennessee. The cave system, known for its narrow, twisting passages and extremely […]