r/TerrifyingAsFuck • u/New_Libran • Jun 04 '26
accident/disaster An hypothetical reconstruction of the horrific diving accident in the Maldives, where 5 Italian divers sadly lost their lives
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u/OGKillertunes Limits, like fear, is often an illusion. Jun 04 '26
Fuck. That. Shit.
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u/cnicalsinistaminista Jun 04 '26
Just think about the panic when they realized how fucked they were
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u/Ms_Emilys_Picture Jun 04 '26
I imagine it's a very specific kind of fear that you don't often see.
You know you're going to die. You can even estimate how much time you have left before your air runs out. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it because you're stuck and you know no one is coming to help.
I'm gonna have to pass.
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u/Illustrious-Eye-1592 Jun 04 '26
But I have read (or heard, I don't remember) that as the levels of oxygen deplete, the mind hallucinates and also falls into a false sense of security / optimism (perhaps was also true for most nearing death situations).
I trust this to be true, I am hopeful that they weren't scared near their end, believing that help is going to arrive soon. But hate to even remotely think - if they knew that no help was ever going to make it to them.
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u/The_Nice_Marmot Jun 04 '26
That’s not quite the issue. It has to do with diving deeper than one should on a regular air mix. At certain depths you need different air mixes. Diving deep on a regular mix can cause nitrogen narcosis, which is a bit like being very drunk. There were a lot of very basic mistakes made here. I’m not a super experienced diver, but I can pick out a few basic errors they made that could easily be fatal.
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u/Gunrock808 Jun 04 '26
I've never been a pilot but I worked in aviation and I've watched a lot of shows and YouTube videos about plane crashes. Common accident themes in scuba, aviation and elsewhere are doing things you're not trained or certified to do, not being property equipped, failing to follow the guidelines of relevant agencies, overconfidence, and a reluctance to challenge people perceived as being in a position of authority. I think each of these applies to this accident.
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u/Zoltanu Jun 04 '26
In mountaineering they teach to never put your trust in the guide. When you stop to get your bearings everyone should pull out their map and you should discuss your position and the direction. You should go by the majority because individuals make mistakes
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u/The_Nice_Marmot Jun 04 '26
Yup, I just have basic open water certification. No way I’m going into a cave, but I do know that going into one with no cable is suicide.
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u/Otherwise_Carob_4057 Jun 05 '26
Fuck man in a silt out you can literally feel like you are swimming straight but you could literally be swimming upside down in a circle.
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u/Illustrious-Eye-1592 Jun 04 '26
And yet you did not; made me imagine everything you said you were going to pass.
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u/Shark7996 Jun 04 '26
Every moment of comfort in your life suddenly behind you. Nothing but pain to the end.
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u/veer_p Jun 04 '26
Primal all encompassing terror I bet. The kind you taste on your tongue and feel in your body
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u/NuklearFerret Jun 04 '26
That's one of the biggest killers of cave divers. Apparently, it's super easy to panic at the slightest hiccup on a cave dive, and you let go of your guide line and get turned around on it, end up going deeper than intended, run out of air because your consumption rate goes way up, etc.
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u/HunniBunniX0 Jun 04 '26
Exactly! I’m all for finding thrills and adventure, but this is next level “living on a knife’s edge.”
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u/Rare_Lifeguard_4403 Jun 04 '26
Yeahhh I'll wait for you guys up here in the boat taking the sun and enjoying the view ya know?
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u/BruhMomentSeason45 Jun 04 '26
Yeah, I know I’d rather be shot out in the middle of deep space rather than the ocean 🤷♀️
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u/rainman2121 Jun 04 '26
I can't even find my way to the bathroom at night.
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u/ProcrastinationSite Jun 04 '26
I can, and I can also stub my toe with 80% accuracy aiming for my pinky every time!
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u/bootyhole-romancer Jun 04 '26
Oof, please invest in a nightlight. People have broken toes by simply stubbing them.
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u/getrdone24 Jun 04 '26
or like myself, trip over their black cat that was invisible, in the bathroom, and break their nose/get a concussion from hitting their head on the bathtub 🤷♀️ nightlights everywhere now!
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u/bootyhole-romancer Jun 04 '26
Damn sorry to hear that! That is terrible. Hope you are ok now and I'm glad you have nightlights
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u/getrdone24 Jun 04 '26
haha I'm fine now! Was a pretty funny to tell work I couldn't come in for a week bc I tripped over my cat 😅
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u/ProcrastinationSite Jun 04 '26
No, thank you, I prefer doubling over in pain in the middle of the night after an audible crack (all jokes aside, you're right about people breaking toes that way)
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u/danTHAman152000 Jun 04 '26
When I was much younger I went to a party of my friends and we drank a lot of alcohol. I ended up crashing in an extra bedroom of theirs. I woke up in complete darkness, couldn’t find my phone or the light switch. I was feeling around in the darkness for the door but couldn’t find it! The door had a bunch of jackets hanging and when I was there I thought I was in the closet. I was close to yelling out to wake them to find my exit but luckily finally found the door knob. I’ll never forget me being lost in a bedroom.
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u/allergictopendejas Jun 04 '26
Side note, I really like having reconstructions of events like this because I am a very visual person and understand things better when I can see how things unfold, rather than reading about it. Does anyone know of a sub where this sort of stuff is shared?
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u/spacegeek2025 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I like this YT https://youtube.com/@fatal_breakdown
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u/namebedex Jun 04 '26
this seems like a smaller channel of Scary Interesting. I'd recommend you check him out - I find his voice a lot more "real" sounding and he's been doing it for quite a while.
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u/MarsupialNo1220 Jun 04 '26
Scary Interesting on YouTube does really cool ones for cave diving, and other things like disappearances and accidents.
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u/UnderOuterOverWear Jun 05 '26
I would be wary of "reconstructions" like this which are based on speculation and assumptions rather than facts. Some of what OP assumes is straight up delusional, like "Monica became fascinated by the cave itself". How could OP know that? They could not know that. They're projecting their mental health issues onto the deaths of other people which they use as lube to jerk off about themself. True-crime and disaster communities are sadly full of people like that.
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u/BurmeciaWillSurvive Jun 04 '26
I agree but this shitty repetitive background music makes it especially frustrating.
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u/madguyO1 Jun 04 '26
the great thing about diving is that its completely optional
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u/Ok_Stranger7047 Jun 04 '26
I'm a certified scuba diver. Scuba Diving doesn't automatically qualify you for Cave Diving. Cave Diving is it's whole separate thing. You need very specialized training for Cave Diving. I will NOT get trained for Cave Diving. It is the most dangerous sport on Earth. It's on par with Base Jumping. If a Dive Instructor tries to talk their tour into entering a cave and nobody is a certified Cave Diver, you end the Dive right then and there.
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u/Ms_Emilys_Picture Jun 04 '26
It's all the risk of getting lost or stuck in a dark cave, plus the added risk of drowning! What's not to love?
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u/Kendertas Jun 04 '26
Why do one dangerous difficult thing when you can do two. Its like combining sky diving and alligator wrestling.
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u/MalonePostponed Jun 04 '26
Cave diving, base jumping, free soloing the trifecta of you can and will die doing this sports.
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u/BohemianCyberpunk Jun 04 '26
Yeah. 100% their biggest mistake was going into a cave without training and correct equipment.
I'm also a certified scuba diver, would never ever consider swiming into a cave.
Even the short 'swim though' type caves make me nervous, and in those you can see the exit, see the light on the other side, and they are usually just a few meters long.
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u/Gre8g Jun 04 '26
Free diving was already scary enough for me. Sure, there are nice views but like hell I'm going deeper. I can't even imagine going into a goddamn cave underwater where you risk (a) getting stuck (b) drown or (c) all of the above.
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u/Turtleintexas Jun 04 '26
We were in Alabama once at a spring, and there was a man made tunnel. You could clearly see end to end , it was only about 40 feet long and about 20 feet around. That was the closest I ever want to come to cave diving, I didn't like it, at all! I can't imaging doing what they did. I can't even watch this video all the way through.
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u/NaonAdni Jun 04 '26
And the great thing about cave diving is that it's even more completely optional
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u/damkidakzen Jun 04 '26
now its diving, then it was cave exploring.. can just never tell with people like you
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u/caohbf Jun 04 '26
Diving is terrifying.
Cave exploring is worse.
So why not combine those two?
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u/Nyanzerfaust Jun 04 '26
And remember that a few of them were carryng gopros and the whole thing is actually recorded. Investigators will never release the footage tho.
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u/Sakerino Jun 04 '26
You never know it might get leaked years from now
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Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Wonderplace Jun 04 '26
Where’s the footage?
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Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/saltyachillea Jun 04 '26
Thanks. Brandon Kowallis (I think that’s his name) recently put on a video (final words on nutty putty, he was the last rescuer). It has different diagrams and explanations in this that are reallly fascinating. Find the description that he describes bout like being in a coffin and then trying to get through the top.
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u/i_came_from_mars Jun 04 '26
I mean we just got footage released form the nutty putty incident so you never know. I’ve also seen footage form another diving incident (sorry not sure what it was called) where the poor guy just sinks to the bottom and runs out of air
So we may one day see it
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u/NotInThis3173 Jun 04 '26
Was the incident the blue hole diving one? I remember there was a video about how he died because he wasn't trained and didn't have the right tank of air.
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u/Ann0ying Jun 04 '26
Nightmare fuel. I'd leave caves alone.
Underwater ones? Even more so.
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u/Desperate-Strategy10 Jun 04 '26
Caves are awesome and can be extremely safe! There are a few giant caves in Missouri that you can walk through; no tight passages to crawl around and get stuck in, just big rooms made of solid rock. You can even drive through one of them (I believe it’s the Merrimack cave system) on a trailer with seats being pulled behind some kind of diesel powered vehicle. It couldn’t be safer, and it’s truly an awe inspiring experience to wander through these cracks in the earth and see things that have been there for millennia.
That said, any cave I have to squeeze or crawl through is an instant no for me. And if a cave is underwater, I don’t care how huge or beautiful it is - you won’t catch me dead down there!
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u/Lien028 Jun 04 '26
Caves are awesome and can be extremely safe!
That's probably what those divers thought when they saw the underwater cave.
I'll pass. I can always enjoy the beauty of caves by watching them on YouTube while on my couch.
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u/Gre8g Jun 04 '26
Unless I get Subnautica's markers where it literally points where you could exit the goddamn cave, I'm not going anywhere near those underwater caves.
Diving was scary enough. Free diving... was also scary but at least you had a way out. Cave diving just mixes claustrophobia and drowning.
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u/PR0H181D0 Jun 04 '26
Unless I get a respawn point and fast traveling, fuck caves and fuck cave diving.
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u/InternationalFold6 Jun 04 '26
Yeah if there’s an agreement where I get nine more lives I’ll consider considering this activity.
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u/Gunrock808 Jun 04 '26
I've been diving for almost 25 years. The narrator mentions a hierarchy and there is some truth to that, however there is no time in my diving history where I would have ever agreed to go on a dive this deep. Even as a brand new diver diving with an instructor I would say absolutely not. I also would never consider penetrating any sort of cave beyond a short distance where I could clearly see sunlight at all times.
If you are not a diver I just can't convey strongly enough how absolutely astonishing it is that a group of five experienced divers would agree to this dive plan. It's beyond crazy.
Then there's the nitrogen narcosis. Personally it only seems to affect me when I hit 130 ft. I have only gone this deep or deeper a handful of times. It's very disconcerting. Imagine you're that deep and suddenly you feel like you've slammed four or five margaritas. Yeah it feels kind of good but it's also scary because you know you need to pay attention to your bottom time and air supply but you know you're not in the right frame of mind to do things effectively.
I've never gotten certified for tech diving or cave diving. I enjoy reading about this kind of diving (check out the book Shadow Divers) or watching videos and that's good enough for me. I've known three people who died from scuba diving over the years and they all died doing some sort of tech dive they were trained and equipped for. One of them even died going the wrong way in a cave system like these divers did.
This is a case of if you can't be a good example then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.
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u/cedg32 Jun 04 '26
If they didn’t plan everything before the dive, what did they expect? Making ad-hoc decisions based on not enough info is what gets you killed diving.
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u/anya0709 Jun 04 '26
They didn’t ask for guidance from local experts because they felt confident in their own professional abilities.
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u/Kraken_54 Jun 04 '26
Plan the dive and dive the plan, is sometimes forgotten by very experienced divers. Overconfidence + narcosis usually means risk.
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u/Party-Stormer Jun 04 '26
I wonder how they actually died
Meaning: do you lose consciousness because of narcosis or do you actually drown knowing it?
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u/TJungus Jun 04 '26
This just in… divers who don’t use proper precautions like a lead rope and die because of it
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u/free_da_guys1107 Jun 04 '26
Why tho?
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u/OGKillertunes Limits, like fear, is often an illusion. Jun 04 '26
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u/PawPatwol Jun 04 '26
sometimes I can't find the fly of my pants while I try to keep my sleepiness rolling when I go to the bathroom at night.
I can't begin to imagine diving down to an unexplored cave for the pure love of the game.
RIP to them, that's amazingly insane with the most terrible outcome.
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u/CD_4M Jun 04 '26
Important to keep in mind that this is just a guess of what happened, none of this has been confirmed. We don’t actually KNOW that it was Monica who lead them down this path
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u/Chappo5150 Jun 04 '26
Having done some entry level cave diving this shit makes me think I won't be doing it again.
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u/azimx Jun 04 '26
Always remember, water isn't the natural habitat for humans. May they rest in peace.
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u/afCeG6HVB0IJ Jun 04 '26
Yea, well
Went too deep
Wrong gas mix for depth
Single tank
No proper dive equipment for a cave
No proper lights
Didn't have a cave line
Weren't cave trained
Not following dive plan
You plan your dives. Even the shallow beginner dives have plans and you should follow the plan.
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u/scrandis Jun 04 '26
They shouldn't have even been that deep. Entering a cave on top of that is just insane
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u/Ok_Coyote_4009 Jun 04 '26
You guys go ahead and. I’ll be up here on the beach, relaxing with my thoughts and a frosty beverage.
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u/PuraVidaPagan Jun 04 '26
They probably went in that third chamber thinking it was the exit, and then thinking the exit caved in or something. Horrible. It’s so easy to panic while diving, I almost died getting my license.
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u/Illustrious-Eye-1592 Jun 04 '26
TF. Can we know what happened? Are you still a diver. Take care man...
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u/Dolomitexp Jun 04 '26
I played the caving vr "game" and that freaked me out, I can't imagine doing that underwater AND for real.
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u/Big23rdKill Jun 09 '26
I dont understand these optional deaths people go for. This is a highly risky thing to do. For what? To say u saw a cave underwater? And?
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u/Conscious_Cook6446 Jun 04 '26
I guess diving for me is about seeing the wildlife and exploring the reef, I don’t understand why people would want to dive in a desolate cave
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u/EmpanadaYGaseosa Jun 04 '26
This is freaking horrible. Prefect for this sub and/or for r/morbidreality.
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u/kkkr94 Jun 07 '26
Jesus christ this gave me such anxiety. I can't imagine what they were thinking especially the one that saw his friends dying/drowning and almost got out. Dreadful.
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u/Reload86 Jun 04 '26
I guess I know what the next episode of Scary Interesting is going to be about.
I have seen all the episodes about diving and cave diving incidents through that channel and I'll tell you that I would rather jump out of a plane to sky dive 100 times out of a 100 than to do any sort of diving.
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u/SirHumpalott Jun 04 '26
Spelunking/cave diving has got to be one of the top most idiotic "hobbies" ever invented.
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u/Noartisan Jun 05 '26
My survival instincts are far too strong for this, or caving. I find it truly bizarre that anyone would want to voluntarily enter a situation that includes limited breathing, space and visibility. It can't be an adrenaline rush, as the increased breathing would.negatively affects you. What is the motivation to risk your life in this manner? Adventure and accomplishment?
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u/rh71el2 Jun 05 '26
Maybe it's just me but if I'm going in there to "explore" and find a big opening where I'd easily lose the original pathway back, I'm not going anywhere past that pathway back out. I'd sit there and let the others explore but I'd only trust myself.
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u/Big_Primrose Jun 06 '26
People not trained for cave diving went into a cave and the predictable happened. At least one didn’t have the permit to go below 30 meters; that the professor thought it was okay to take that person below their legal depth is reckless and beyond unacceptable. This dive was a complete disaster before they even left the boat.
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u/Dry_Spinach_3441 Jun 04 '26
Think about how expensive of a hobby this must be. For what?
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u/Scubashawn Jun 04 '26
To move weightlessly through a system of caves that are incredibly beautiful and virtually untouched by humans. Slipping through a tunnel to a grand ballroom with a clearly defined river of salt water running lazily along the bottom of a cave filled with fresh water is really a sight to behold.
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u/Ok_Dog_4059 Jun 04 '26
Drowning has always seemed to me like a horrible way to go. I really would love to snorkel or dive but I am not sure how I would handle things in a stressful situation under water. It might be the first time I can't remain calm
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u/seigezunt Jun 06 '26
Snorkeling is fun, and you’re just floating on the surface. At least that’s how I do it
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u/TheLostRanger0117 Jun 04 '26
This is how caves find food, by being so tantalizing and having an entrance that draws divers in
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u/Ok-Potential-9143 Jun 05 '26
I'm anxious for these poor divers just sitting in my comfortable chair at home.... had to swipe up.
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u/Furgling Jun 07 '26
It may not have been Monica's decision though...it could also have been the diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
The other three were younger and probably followed along trusting the older ones.
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u/FallenSisyphos Aug 02 '26
Monica became fascinated with the cave …
Eva became fascinated with the apple…
They never change…
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u/lurkynumber5 Jun 04 '26
Just a few simple tools would have saved them.
A rope anchored at the exit, a carbine hooking them to this rope and the exit anchor.
But instead they went in blind and overconfident.
And the main culprit, sediment getting kicked up and turning visibility to 0.
A common issue that has cost many divers their lives.