Diver Patrik Gronqvist inside Ojamo chalk mine in Finland (Credit: Ari Linna)
A diver has told of the horror moment two of his friends got trapped while diving in one of the most dangerous caves in the world.
The Plura cave in northern Norway is nestled in the Plurdalen valley and flanked by picturesque lakes and Lapland hills.
But do not be fooled by the beautiful surroundings – five divers have been killed or injured since Pluragrotta cave was officially discovered in 1980.
The latest tragic accident happened last week after an American diver died in the cave.
The lake that guards the cave entrance is famous for its pristine waters, but only experienced divers should attempt to conquer the 9,800ft long Plura.
The cave entrance is hidden underneath Plura river (Provider: Wikimedia)
Located outside the city of Mo i Rana, the cave is around 443ft deep.
In 2014, two Finnish divers lost their lives after getting into trouble hundreds of feet underwater.
They were part of a group of five who entered the clear but ice-cold waters leading into the cave on February 6, 2014.
Patrik Gronqvist was in Plura ten years ago and witnessed the first death after his diving buddy got stuck in a narrow section of the cave more than 100m down.
Another man, diving in the second group that followed before Patrik was out of the cave on the other end, died near the first fatality after they came across his lifeless body.
The deadly accident
In winter, Plura is inaccessible to most divers who are not used to the cold water temperatures which was just 2C on the day of the fatal dive, adding difficulty to the already challenging extreme sport.
Patrik explained: ‘It is cold on the surface and even colder in the water.’
A map of the the cave (Credit: Metro.co.uk graphic)
Divers have to be careful about carbon dioxide poisoning and equipment failure.
After an air pocket with a large dry cave at about 114ft, where the diving community has held a wedding and even a concert at Easter, the cave ‘changes completely’, Patrik said.
He told Metro.co.uk: ‘It deepens sharply and gets a lot smaller. It is crammed and winding like a labyrinth.
‘You have to be really careful there that you see where the route goes so that you do not get lost in a dead end.
‘The second narrowing is really demanding. It has not been dived a lot before the accident and no one has dived the most demanding section after our rescue operation.’
Patrik’s diving buddy got stuck in the narrow passage and most likely died of carbon dioxide poisoning which causes disorientation and dizziness, basically incapacitating the diver and making it almost impossible for them to communicate.
Using a diving mask and tanks is like ‘breathing into a paper bag’, he explained.
He said: ‘With the oxygen tank and mask, if you start breathing too fast and panic in any way the system cannot necessarily filter out all the carbon dioxide produced by the body. Especially the ‘closed’ kind of oxygen system.’
A decade after the accident, he said he thinks both victims ‘got nervous’ as they went deeper into the most demanding second section.
Panicking multiplies the toxicity of the carbon dioxide, Patrik said.
He recounted the nightmare: ‘When we dived into the deeper section I think that is exactly what happened.
‘The carbon dioxide level became too high and then there were other obstacles.
‘They got stuck there and breathed themselves to death.’
It took him a couple of minutes before he understood his friend had died.
‘I didn’t understand how bad the situation had gotten before it was too late.’
‘We spent 20 minutes in the narrowing, I tried to help him.
Although Patrik is a firefighter and rescue diver with the Helsinki region fire service, he said a rescue call-out is ‘completely different’ from being in the thick of it yourself.
He said his profession and experience ‘helped in some way’ but most crucial was to stay calm.
‘But in a call-out you are prepared to help others whereas now you are in the middle of it,’ Patrik said.
Even a small delay at that depth means more decompression breaks during ascent to avoid the divers’ disease.
He faced hours of diving and stopping on his way up.
On his way to the cave exit, Patrik said he was sure they would ‘come back tomorrow’ to retrieve the body.
‘I tried to pull him with me but of course he was not going to move’, he told of the horrifying moments.
Thoughts of his friend’s loved ones filled his thoughts.
In the moment, he was focused on surviving but the next day ‘felt a lot heavier but in the moment I just had to get on the surface alive and then the next step.’
‘When you spend 20 minutes extra there it adds hours on the way to the surface because you have to take stops.
‘It was more than eight hours so you are faced with a lot of factors – cold, oxygen.’
Unaware of what had happened, the second group of three divers started the same journey.
Then they came across the body.
The first diver had no choice but to struggle until he got past him because his oxygen may not have been enough to turn back, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports.
He eventually caught up with Patrik and they resurfaced.
Norwegian authorities believe the second casualty also panicked when he saw the body, with the final diver unable to help him.
He decided to turn around, spending 11 hours on a dive that was expected to last only five.
The forbidden rescue operation
It was a ‘no brainer’ for Patrik who said they were going to come and retrieve the bodies.
But it did not happen straight away like he had planned.
He said: ‘Immediately when we resurfaced we were taken in a helicopter to the airport and then in an ambulance to Tromssa into a pressure tank and our diving equipment was confiscated and we were taken into an interrogation.
‘We had no chance nor we were in a fit state to do it the next day.’
At that point, Patrik was still unaware another friend had also died.
‘Our equipment was taken away and a diving ban was announced, but then the British cave rescue team was called in.
Sadly, the ‘well-known’ diving team was unable to pull out the bodies due to ‘cold water’ in an unfamiliar cave.
The divers decided to go down themselves after his friend’s wife called crying and saying authorities were going to ‘leave them,’ Patrik said.
Since the cave was officially closed, a group of 15 divers hatched a plan to return in secret and face the consequences.
He said the rescue dive about a month later was very different as the group were able to take spare oxygen tanks along the way which the five divers did not have.
The tragedy made Patrik more careful who he dives with now, especially on any demanding trips.
Cave diving will always be part of Patrik’s life despite its risks (Credit: Ari Linna)
The dad-of-three said his ‘family was worried back then.’
But they got even more so after a fatal accident in south of France in 2017 when another diver died around 656ft underwater.
‘After that I was told at home that no more of that’, he said.
However, diving is part of his identity.
‘It is indescribable. The calm and quiet in a cave. You train the balancing and eventually it feels like you are flying – not up or down but just there. That is worth working towards.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.