An Epic Rescue:

[JE]

Going thru my bookmarks i came across the following incident:

http://www.cavediving.com.au/cave-di...ety-from-cave/

"The 13 "entombed" cavers, who were making a documentary on underwater diving in the cavern, were able to radio to five members of a ground crew outside the cave. They, in turn, notified authorities." "Caught in the landslide with the three Sydneysiders were seven people from Adelaide, a Gold Coast man, a man from the US and one from Britain"

Was the USA diver Wes ? Does anyone recall ?

[JamesK]

Yes, this is what Sanctum was based on.

[jcook]

Yes, this is what Sanctum was based on.

Actually it was based off Dr. Bill Stone's book, where one of the divers died on their Cis-Lunar Mk4 rebreather due to not eating a Snickers bar (diver was diabetic). I believe they were in Mexico.

[JamesK]

Actually it was based off Dr. Bill Stone's book, where one of the divers died on their Cis-Lunar Mk4 rebreather due to not eating a Snickers bar (diver was diabetic). I believe they were in Mexico.

Huh? Not according to the extra scenes in the DVD.

[jcook]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881320/trivia

Even IMDB agrees with me. Plus I asked Bill Stone about it when I met him at Jill's house, lol.

[gschaut]

Was the USA diver Wes ? Does anyone recall ?

Yes, it was Wes. He presented a video/lecture at Underwater Canada on the event. He described it as a relative calm event for those underground.

It was a planned 10 (or so) day trek into a cave system where several large above-water chambers were separated by sumps. It was a series of dives to push thru the sumps and map the cave with radio-location system.

The cave is only accessible during dry season, the entrance is the cave's sump. After the planned expedition was wrapping up, and the team was in the process of cleaning out tons of equipment thru the small entrance, a major rain event caused a flash flood, and blocked the entrance.

According to Wes's description, the underground team was never in danger, as the cave's dry chambers were very high, and well above any record water level during floods. They just had to sit tight and wait out the flood to leave.

Above ground there was great concern that not all the team had gotten back to the dry chamber, and that someone might be trapped in a low, flooding section of cave. Thru radio contact, the underground and above ground sections of the team were able to compare body counts, and make sure everyone was accounted for and safe.

This posting is based on a 20 year old memory, and is subject to error based on the number of brain cells I have killed in the past couple decades.

[Jay]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881320/trivia

Even IMDB agrees with me. Plus I asked Bill Stone about it when I met him at Jill's house, lol.

Of course Stone would want to take credit... but if you read the whole IMDB article only the cave was based on Stone's expedition. The story was based on Nullarbor and Wes was involved.

IMDB
"Based on the true story of co-writer Andrew Wight. He once went cave diving under the Nullarbor plain with fourteen other people. An unexpected storm made the cave's entrance collapse and they spent two days looking for another way out. Unlike in the film however, a rescue was organized and everybody survived. Wight told his frequent collaborator and fellow diving enthusiast James Cameron the story in 2006, who decided they should get a director and make a film about it."

[JamesK]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881320/trivia

Even IMDB agrees with me. Plus I asked Bill Stone about it when I met him at Jill's house, lol.

IMDB is wrong. Andrew Wight wrote the movie based on his own experience.

[jcook]

IMDB is wrong. Andrew Wight wrote the movie based on his own experience.

Well Sanctum was based on the book "To Hell and Back".

[Greenwood_60]

Some of the shots in Sanctum looked straight off the pictures in "Beyond the Deep". Both seem to be obvious inspiration for aspects of the movie.