Scandinavian divers explored a cave in the Carpathians - video

A group of speleon divers from Finland and Sweden, supported by colleagues from Romania, explored the site known as Izbucul Tauz from 16 to 21 September. They managed to reach a depth of 75 metres during the dive in a karst sinkhole. According to Romanian media reports, this was a pioneering exploration and the first human visit to this site at such a great depth.

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The exploration team managed to visit several flooded chambers during the dive, but they also found themselves in a dry chamber filled with fantastic limestone blocks. Despite the extraordinary experience, the expedition into the depths of the vent was only a substitute.

The main objective of the speleoners was the place known as Coiba Mare. It is a cave with a huge opening stretching for 6 km and characterised by a very large and complicated flow and river.

“Unfortunately due to heavy rainfall the whole area was flooded and visibility in the cave itself deteriorated severely for an extended period. With a visibility of 0.5 metres and due to the demanding profile of the cave, diving was not possible. Therefore, we decided to change our plans,” said Sami Paakkarinen

Exploring the cave was not easy. It was necessary to squeeze through extremely tight clamps, and the water temperature was only 6°C. Fortunately, the Scandinavian team were very experienced cave divers, for whom the demanding conditions of the Romanian vent were not an insurmountable obstacle.

The Finns and Swedes were exploring together with local speleoners and at the invitation of the Association of Divers Explorers in Transylvania.

“This is the third time we have come to lead an exploration in Apuseni. This time there are five of us here. Our team of experienced cave divers consists of four Finns and one Swede” – said Adrian Perez

“It is quite a demanding and long journey. First we travelled 30h by car, then another 2.5h by ferry to Estonia and another 30h by car. It was necessary to take a minibus, as all the equipment weighs at least 500kg per person. We hope that we will be able to return here soon and continue exploring the region”. – Patrik Grönqvist added

Izbucul Tauz is a spring located in the Carpathian Mountains called the Western Roman Mountains (Apuseni) in the Bihar Massif. The spring itself, which is the entrance to the cave, is easily visible, but it takes more effort to get to the cave.

Source: proalba.ro, b1.ro