Missing cave diver found alive in dry chamber after 48 hrs! - video

The story of the diver who went missing on Saturday while cave diving in Mallorca has ended happily. 54-year-old Xisco Garcia was found alive! The rescue team found him in one of the dry chambers of the Cova de sa Piqueta cave he was exploring.

According to the rescuers, this is a huge stroke of luck, as Xisco was found 48 hours after going missing, when the chances of finding him alive were getting slimmer by the minute.

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Primeras imagenes de Xisco.Gràcia saliendo de Cova de Sa Piqueta #Manacor pic.twitter.com/4rBjSyW06i

– 112 Illes Balears (@112IllesBalears) 17 April 2017

It is extremely rare to hear such good news in such circumstances. Usually, a disappearance during a cave dive does not have a happy ending. Therefore, everyone involved in this story can speak of incredible good fortune.

Garcia was rescued in the early hours of today – Tuesday 18 April – and transported to hospital where he is now recovering from the gruelling ordeal to which his body and psyche have been subjected.

Xisco Garcia, who had been missing since Saturday, was found in the dry chamber of the cave where he was diving. It had been 48 hours since the disappearance, during which the diver had been deprived of water and food. Given the circumstances and the very nature of cave diving, the Spanish media reporting the happy ending to the story make no secret of the fact that finding Xisco alive is a real miracle.

The rescued man himself admitted that he owed his survival, among other things, to the tiny puddle of fresh water he managed to find.

According to the online edition of the English Mirror, Garcia became trapped in a dry chamber about 3,000 metres from the exit and was unable to continue his dive due to the failure of one of his breathing gas cylinders.

#recerca Xisco Gràcia Cova Sa Piqueta #Manacor comença perforació roca per accedir a l’interior de la cova @emergencies_ib pic.twitter.com/zDQACjWoNJ – 112 Illes Balears (@112IllesBalears) April 16, 2017

During the search, rescuers chose the most likely location where the missing diver might be and tried to drill down from the surface to give him water and food, but this plan failed.

The entire rescue operation was one of the most difficult and complex that Mallorca’s rescuers have had to face in years. Almost 60 people were involved in the operation that saved Xisco Garcia.

Source: diariodemallorca.es, mirror.co.uk