Water Rescue Team

The City of Bethlehem Water Rescue Team

The City of Bethlehem Water Rescue Team is a joint effort between the Bethlehem Fire Department and Police Department. The city has 208 acres of water including the Lehigh River, Lehigh Canal, Monocacy and Saucon Creeks. The team is responsible for the rescue or recovery of persons involved in waterway accidents within the city limits. These include recreation incidents and water related incidents (floods). The team consists of 20 members who are trained in several phases of Pennsylvania Water rescue including shore based, line based and boat based rescue. Remember, follow all boating safety rules and wear your PFD’s (personal flotation devices).

Bethlehem Water Rescue Team

Students develop water rescue harness

By Susan Trulove

BLACKSBURG, Va., February 26, 2008 -- Four students in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech have created a swift-water victim-transport harness for boat transport.
In swift-water rescue, neck and back injuries are among the most difficult for rescuers. Victims must be immobilized to reduce the possibility of further injury, especially in cases where the water is rough. However, current back-immobilizing rescue harnesses present complications and hazards. For example, existing harnesses, which were designed for use on land, do not float and become heavier when wet.
Liz Varnerin of Mechanicsville, Va.; Kyle Schumaker of Greenville, S.C.; Brian Sandifer of Waynesboro, Pa.; and Matt Zacherle of Culpeper, Va., all seniors and industrial design majors, developed a rescue harness that provides proper spine immobilization, self-righting to face-up flotation, and protection from water hazards. The team named their product HydroSpine.
The invention began with a class assignment to develop a useful product. When the class discussed disaster solutions, the team began to look at products needed for flood rescue. This initial interest narrowed to water rescue, and finally to the needs of rescuers. “After researching water rescue, we narrowed our focus to getting people in and out of the rescue boat,” Varnerin said.
In September 2007, Varnerin visited George Lewis, a swift-water rescue instructor trainer and owner of Rescue3 Virginia in Front Royal. She learned about rescue operations, the number of rescuers and victims in a boat, and what materials they have to work with. The designer and the rescuer began to discuss a product specifically for back injuries. They brainstormed about a life jacket with a spine board and Varnerin took her notes back to Blacksburg.
The goal is to have a harness that has sufficient flotation, floats in the proper position in the water, and self-rights unconscious victims so they will be face up. This required research with materials and placement of flotation foam. For instance, the team determined that foam has to be placed on the chest after numerous rounds of testing.
They also reduced the number of steps needed to secure the victim, making it easier and quicker for rescuers to use.
The mock up – duct tape and all – was tested in the university’s pool and the design was improved. In November 2007, the entire team took the prototype to Lewis.
“We gave it to his class – which consisted of firefighters -- and before we could provide instruction, they were able to figure it out,” said Schumaker.
“They liked the handles next to the head. It helped a rescuer pull the board when swimming and helped the person in the boat pull the board out of the water,” Schumaker said.
Lewis and his class suggested the team redesign the headpiece so it can be used without a neck brace and relocate some of the straps so the rescuer can check the patient’s vital signs, such as blood pressure.
“The team learned much more about swift-water rescue in general and about the techniques of removing a victim from swift water,” said Schumaker, who participated in the three-day Swift-water Rescue Boat Operators Class and is now boat operator-certified.
The second prototype incorporates handles for pulling and lifting, and holes along the side of the device to allow rescuers access to patient vital signs. There are also fewer buckles. “We integrated four buckles into two handles, allowing simultaneous fastening,” said Sandifer. “This reduces the amount of time it takes to secure a victim.”
Another attribute of the HydroSpine is that it does not contain metal; a hospital can perform tests such as X-rays and MRIs without removing the patient from the harness.
The team will show their product at the National Association for Search and Rescue conference in Colorado Springs, Colo. in late May 2008. A patent is pending on the HydroSpine. To learn more, contact Jackie Reed of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc., at jreed@vtip.org, or (540) 443-9217.

IMAGE INFORMATION: Firefighters in Lewis's class for swift-water rescue boat operators tested the HydroSpine prototype (top). Here, Christopher Eddy is in the device with Kendrick Terry pulling him in the water. An artist's rendering of the final design of the HydroSpine. It incorporates many movements recommended by swift-water rescue personnel (bottom).

Contact Susan Trulove at strulove@vt.edu or (540) 231-5646.

Water Safety

	Water recreation is not recommended in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in the park. Don McGowan Photo Park Rangers practice a dangerous water rescue. Water recreation is not recommended in Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to numerous hazards and dangers. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in the park. Innumerable injuries have resulted from people swimming and riding inner tubes in park waters. Serious water-related injuries occur every year in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These injuries can easily be avoided. Medical assistance for injured persons may be many hours away. Closely supervise children at all times. There are no life-guarded swimming areas in the park. River levels can rise rapidly after a heavy rainfall. A localized thunderstorm dumping rain far upstream on the park's highest peaks can create sudden and unexpected flood conditions at lower elevations. You may not even have felt a raindrop! As river levels rise and water velocity increases, the risk of serious injury or drowning becomes greater. Do not wade in or attempt to cross a rain-swollen stream! Hikers must use good judgment when deciding to cross streams. It is better to turn back or wait for flooding streams to recede than risk your life in cold, swift waters. Do not climb on rocks near waterfalls. Use extreme caution when walking along riverbanks. Over the years, several people have fallen to their deaths and many others have suffered serious injuries from climbing on rocks near waterfalls or along the riverbanks. These rocks are slippery due to mist and algae.   Do not dive or jump into the water. Submerged rocks, trees or debris could be immediately below the surface of the water. If you find yourself accidentally swimming in fast moving water, do not try to stand up. Most drownings result from getting a leg or ankle caught in an underwater rock ledge or between boulders. The force of the water will push you over and hold you under.   The standard defensive swimming position in fast water is lying on your back with your feet pointing downstream and toes up towards the surface. Always look downstream and be prepared to fend off rocks with your feet.    Hypothermia Exposure to cold water can quickly lead to hypothermia, an extremely dangerous condition involving the lowering of the body's "core" temperature. Hypothermia can kill you! Symptoms include loss of strength and muscular coordination followed by mental confusion and irrational behavior.
Water rescue West Mercia constabulary, H&W ambulance service and H& W fire and rescue combined to showcase the latest flood rescue techniques  and unveil their Statement of Common Purpose

Rescue

Hovercraft Mud/Ice/Water Rescue Prepared for worst Exercises at airport include water rescue for first time By Lucas Wall Anchorage Daily News May 16, 2002 Two planes approaching Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport collide, sending one into Cook Inlet and the second crashing in flames onto the runway while attempting an emergency landing. A slew of local, state and federal agencies practiced that scenario Wednesday morning during the airport's required mass casualty exercise. The exercise, mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration, occurs every three years, but this was the first time it included a water rescue. The exercise included the first test of a Cook Inlet multiagency rescue plan developed after an Era Aviation helicopter crashed during an October snowstorm. Two Era passengers were plucked from the icy water by the Alaska Air National Guard. The pilot and two others died. The simulation began at 9:20 a.m. Two Guard pararescuers acting as victims jumped into the Inlet between points Campbell and Woronzof. Just off the east-west runway, volunteers sat in the airport's recently acquired L-188 jet to act as injured passengers involved in the crash-landing. The Airport Safety Department's hovercraft arrived first at the water scene. Its two-man crew deployed an orange life raft, which is designed to hold eight survivors until they can be lifted off the water. The two "victims" climbed into the tiny hovercraft and were ferried to the raft to await further help. In a real event, the hovercraft would continue to round up survivors. The airport purchased its hovercraft earlier this year and added two of the inflatable life rafts last month. "This is the first time in the history of the airport that we've had the capability of response out to the Inlet," said Sgt. Bill Weiss of the Safety Department. "This craft has exceeded all of our expectations." A survivor would likely last no more than 30 to 45 minutes in the cold water of Cook Inlet, he said. Therefore it's critical to quickly get them in a raft. The Safety Department's goal is to launch the hovercraft within 15 minutes of a crash. Once in the life raft, the two mock victims were rescued three times by the Air National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard practicing different techniques. The Air Guard's Pavehawk helicopter came first with its new heli-basket, designed for up to 15 survivors. It took the Pavehawk crew two attempts to successfully lower the basket onto the water and hover so the victims could climb in. They exited to continue the training while the Pavehawk flew back to Kulis Air National Guard base to drop off the basket. Then the Coast Guard's Jayhawk copter lowered a rescue swimmer to help hoist the victims up one at a time. It circled the scene and deposited them back in the water for the final trial run. The Pavehawk returned so its pararescue crew could be lowered into the life raft and hoist the victims to safety. While all this went on, an Alaska State Troopers helicopter hovered in the area with Mort Plumb, airport director, watching the action. An Era helicopter, two Coast Guard rubber boats, and two private airboats were also filled with observers. Back at the airport, firefighters from the Safety Department, Anchorage Fire Department, and Kulis pulled people out of the smoking L-188 and practiced containing a blaze. A triage area was set up, and volunteers, who had fake wounds painted on them, were treated and taken to local hospitals. A command center in the safety building coordinated among the eight agencies participating in the drill. About noon, once the first exercise was completed, supervisors gathered to evaluate the response. A second exercise Wednesday afternoon simulated the arrival of the training jet with a biohazard on board. The National Guard's 103rd Civil Support Team responded with the FBI and Anchorage Fire Department to enter the plane in protective suits and test the mystery agent. Wednesday's drills contained many firsts, Plumb said, and it'll take awhile to sort out what new improvements should be made in the disaster plan. "That's why you do these: you learn," he said. "The main objective is to ensure that we are ready in the unfortunate event that something catastrophic happens." Testing the interagency cooperation was among the most important things, he said. "There's no one single agency that can do it all," Plumb said. "I'm optimistic that we are better off today than we were yesterday and we will have things that we can then probably practice and get even better at the next time." Sgt. Weiss comments: When the exercise began on May 15, 02, we were relatively close to shore. Throughout the exercise the current and outgoing tide took us farther out into Cook Inlet. We deployed an 8 person inflatable buoyant apparatus (IBA). We stopped momentarily to disconnect the IBA lanyard from the hovercraft then started our search and recovery of "survivors." We picked up two "survivors" and transported them to the IBA then stood by for helicopter arrival. A Kulis Air National Guard MH60-J Pavehawk helicopter then hoisted the two "survivors" from the IBA. The empty 87-pound IBA flipped over during the second hoist. We expected that to happen. One week prior to this, we had the same helicopter do the hoist directly from the hovercraft. The intense rotor wash had no effect on the stability of the hovercraft. The U.S. Coast Guard also did two hoists from the IBA. Again, when empty, the IBA flipped, but the nearby hovercraft was absolutely stable in the sea conditions and rotor wash. The Pavehawk also brought out a new recovery basket to try out. During this operation, we kept the hovercraft at idle next to the IBA and held the IBA to stabilize it. The recovery basket floats in the water while the "survivors" swim toward it. I've included this last photo to somewhat show the rotor wash effect and the sea state as we drifted west. The hovercraft is to the left in the photo. Throughout the exercise, we were well protected and comfortable in our Mustang Ice Commander suits, and the hovercraft remained a stable work platform. The earlier photo I sent that was in the Anchorage Daily News was a better shot of this same event. Photos taken by Bill Roth, copyright 2002 Anchorage Daily News and Mickey Hendrickson, an employee of Anchorage Airport. Sgt. Bill Weiss Anchorage International Airport - Police - Fire - EMS Anchorage, Alaska USA william_weiss@dot.state.ak.ua Sgt. Weiss describes the airport's hovercraft training exercises: Yesterday the 16th April 02, was our first test at negotiating out into Cook Inlet. We had a number of challenges. The previous week we buried our Honda ATV in deep snow at the edge of the mud flats in our first attempt at deploying into the inlet. Yesterday I simply flew the hovercraft on the ski trail from Gate W-4 to the bike trail, which is on the perimeter of the airport. To get down the hill to the mud flats, we connected the hovercraft to a snow machine (snowmobile) with a rope. The hovercraft went down the slope first, using the snow machine for breaking. I pretty much kept the hovercraft at idle and slid down the snow-covered slope. This method worked quite well over the deep snow. The sloped trail was narrow with trees on both sides. We then flew about three hundred yards across snow-covered mud flats to near the inlet. Again, no problem flying over deep snow and slush. The hovercraft starts up and runs fine since the throttle cable fix. The tide line was an enormous problem. The tide line consists of frozen mud, icebergs and boulders. The consistency is much like that of the worst lava fields. Even at high tide, we had to drop down a ledge of approximately three feet to enter the water. In traversing the tide line and entering the water, we broke at least two consecutive plastic skirt segment p-clips at the right front of the hovercraft. We discovered this as soon as we applied power. One skirt segment was completely blowing up, causing excessive spray and air loss. I had to enter the water to inspect and repair the problem. As there were no p-clips to connect to, I simply used the wire ties to connect the segment to the adjacent loose skirt segments. The fix worked and the hovercraft flew as if the p-clips were still intact. Working in the water was very comfortable in our new Mustang Ice Commander suits - good digital dexterity and plenty of warmth and buoyancy. The sea conditions were pretty rough. There was a significant chop coming from a variety of directions, which is typical for the inlet. The windshield iced up, along with some buildup of ice on the skirt, but no icing was detected on the fan blades. The craft flew very well. We flew for about three hours. My trainee did hit one iceberg and put a crack in the left front cowling. We later found the crack extended through two consecutive air duct feed holes on the left front. The initial crack caused a dimple in the cowling, which popped out with the first application of power after the collision. There was no noticeable effect on flight operations. We spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a spot to exit the inlet. As the tide was now going out, we had to get out at the mud flats, or fly all the way to the port of Anchorage, with no guarantee that the conditions there would be any better. We attempted to lift the hovercraft back over one ice shelf at the tide line, but we were not successful. We worked both in and out of the water, but were not able to overcome the slippery conditions, the weight of the craft, the very sharp and very rough terrain. We believe we would have easily solved this if we had two additional people - one lifting each handle. We will now deploy and recover with four people (two ground crew) when we encounter these conditions. I finally found a spot I could fly ashore. What, from the water, looked like flat, snow covered mud flats, turned out to be an extended area of deep, sharp, frozen depressions. Consequently, shortly after flying ashore, I lost my air cushion and banged to a rough stop atop what I would describe as a frozen reef of the worst kind. In that landing, we broke some additional plastic p-clips. I did what skirt repairs I could while my other officer walked back to the snow machine. We planned to use the snow machine and what air cushion I could muster to tow the craft off the "reef." When he didn't return, I walked to the snow machine to find it would not start. We walked back to the hovercraft. We started the hovercraft; we both remained outside the craft at the front lift handles. I operated the throttle from outside the craft. We were able to get enough lift and thrust to get the craft off the rough terrain and fly back to the snow machine. Again, throughout the day, we never had any problem with the engine, throttle or flying the craft over the water or snow. Considering what we encountered, the hovercraft was extremely rugged and durable. After finally fixing the snow machine, we reversed the process for going back up the hill. We tethered the snow machine in front of the hovercraft and planned to use both the snow machine's and hovercraft's power to get up the hill. As it turned out, the snow machine was only used for directional control going up the narrow slope. The hovercraft climbed the slope under its own power. That worked very well. In all this, we came close to expending all the fuel in the short-range gas tank. Upon inspection, the forward bottom of the craft did take some dings from the impacts of the sharp, frozen, uneven terrain at the tide line. We'll look at doing full repairs over the next couple of days prior to flying again. The main lesson we learned from this in all four people are needed - two to lift and carry the hovercraft over the frozen tide line for deployment and recovery. Again, I hope our experience will be of some help to others. Sgt. Bill Weiss Anchorage International Airport - Police - Fire - EMS Anchorage, Alaska USA william_weiss@dot.state.ak.ua Last night was finally our first chance to work with an Air National Guard Blackhawk UH-60 helicopter out in Cook Inlet. See picture. We deployed with three people and extra equipment in the hovercraft. The weather and payload made it a challenge just getting to the training area out in the ocean. We fought a twenty-knot head wind and rough seas to get there. Heading out, we never did get over the hump. We just plowed our way out. The engine ran fine and the cylinder head temp stayed right around 400 degrees. This is what we're normally seeing for all of our salt-water ops. Once on site, the hovercraft was extremely stable in the rough water. Throughout the mission we were either at an idle or moving. We never did shut down the engine. The Blackhawk made a number of passes over the hovercraft and also did some low hovers over us to check the effect of the rotor wash on our craft. Even with the rough seas, wind and rotor wash, the hovercraft was exceptionally stable in the water. The helicopter then dropped a pararescue swimmer in the water. We picked him up with the hovercraft, and then the helicopter hoisted him back onboard directly from the hovercraft. That worked very well. We were out there for a few hours doing some other work with the Blackhawk, including filming their work with a new rescue basket. Again, even in the rough conditions and passing rainsqualls, the hovercraft made a stable platform for filming. Our Mustang Ice Commander suits continue to provide very good protection from the elements. Earlier in the day we did a media shoot for the upcoming Cook Inlet exercise. During that filming we deployed from a rocky beach at low tide. We managed to break six plastic "P" connectors in the forward area of the craft. We replaced those with rubber insulated metal connectors before the evening mission. I'll let you know how these connectors are holding up to the salt water. Yesterday we started to see some electrical problems. Our running lights no longer work, which is no big deal, but we had to reset our bucket computers a number of times. I had more success keeping the buckets on line if I had all the other electronics shut down. In the ocean it's not that big of a deal to lose the buckets anyway. We mostly fly just on rudders. The buckets are more important for landings on the rough beach though. I'll do some troubleshooting and adjust the computers before next Wednesday's exercise. I'll let you know how it goes. In the mean time, we'll keep pushing the limits. Sgt. Bill Weiss Anchorage International Airport - Police - Fire - EMS Anchorage, Alaska USA william_weiss@dot.state.ak.ua 10 May 2002 I think the computer shut down is due to low voltage. There may be a short in the system affecting both the running lights and draining the battery. This would make sense with all the saltwater work we're doing. We'll get through Wednesday's exercise and continue to troubleshoot. The next hovercraft we buy should go with only the minimum essential electronics and as tight a system as we can as far as protecting the wiring. Other than the gauges to monitor the systems, the only lighting we really need is the clear strobe and the headlights. We haven't used the headlights yet, because we haven't had any true night ops. The clear strobe is fantastic under low visibility conditions (snow, rain, fog). For a spotlight, we would use a hand held. We're stilling running hand held radios. At this point I don't think installing radios is a good idea. I don't think they'll hold up to the salt water and I don't think the electrical system will handle the load. We may well end up staying with the hand held Motorola's. We wear them on a small chest harness over our ice rescue suit. One radio is an 800 MHz trunking system that ties us into our dispatch, Anchorage Fire Department and other agencies. The other radio is a VHF that includes marine band channels. They both work well. We also carry a cell phone in the glove box. That works well also. I'd recommend to anybody to stick with hand held radios for the craft. This is a great deal of hard work that is extremely satisfying as we learn top deal with challenges. I only have two Officers trained at a minimum basic level so far. Our other work commitments have also been a large part of the challenge to brining this program up to a 24/7 capability. It may well take me the rest of this year to get us fully capable. Thanks for your tremendous support. Sgt. Bill Weiss Anchorage International Airport - Police - Fire - EMS Anchorage, Alaska USA william_weiss@dot.state.ak.ua

Mountain Rescue

 

Mountain Rescue Team Training

It takes three years to become a fully trained Mountain Rescue Team member.
Training includes 4x4/ATV driving, white water safety, helicopter familiarisation, group leadership skills, navigation, rigging rescue stretchers and managing casualties in difficult locations. Basic first aid skills are also required.
Trainee volunteers are regularly assessed, particularly in the winter months. Fitness and basic mountaineering skills are essential to ensure their safety, as colleagues and members of the public will be dependent on them.
The Mountain Rescue Team trains regularly every second Wednesday, with occasional training days being held on a Sunday for joint training exercises with civilian mountain rescue teams.

SPELEOLOGY

The diversity of Croatia's landscape, primarily the mountain ranges of Velebit, Mosor and Ucka, as well as the continental mountain ranges, are a real challenge for speleologists that can visit numerous caves throughout the whole year thanks to the favorable climate.

A well-organized network of speleological societies and a helicopter equipped Mountain Rescue Service (GSS), enable all active holiday lovers to safely explore Croatia's caves.

Besides caves suitable only for professional speleologists, Croatia has numerous so-called tourist caves that are specially suited and safe for amateurs.

CAVES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Caves have been known to man since prehistoric times when they were used as shelters, as well as temporary and permanent homes. We can find material evidence for this on the walls, ceilings, as well as in the interiors of caves. The oldest written documents on Croatian caves date back to Roman times and are the result of research done by Roman scholars Lucrecius, Strabon and Plinius Senior and Junior two milleniums ago. The second oldest document is a church register from 1096 describing the cave called "pechina" (this is the origin of the Croatian word "pecina" meaning cave) on the island of Ugljan near Zadar. The cave is 28 m long and lies on the western side of the island, about 500 m north of the bay of Zeljina at 100 m above sea level.
Some hundred years ago, the world renown Croatian scientist Dr. Dragutin Gorjanovic-Kramberger discovered in a cave on the Husnjakovo mountain close to Krapina remains of prehistoric man known as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. This archeological site is among the most valuable Neanderthal locations in the world.
A collection of artifacts and bones can be seen at the Museum of Early Man in Krapina. For information on opening hours and other, call +385/49-371-491.

CROATIA'S BEST-KNOWN CAVES
Of all mountainous areas, the Velebit and Mosor mountain ranges, as well as the Paklenica National Park have the most speleological sites such as caves and gorges suited for professionals that are familiar with techniques for climbing, descending into and moving through caves with full equipment etc. Here is a list of the best known caves:
- Panjkova Cave Krsnje in the Kordun Area 12 385 m
- Cave in the Tounj Quarry - Tounj 8 410 m
- Veternica Medvednica by Zagreb 6 816 m
- Jopiceve Caves - Kordun by Krnjak 6 564 m
- Donja Cerovacka Cave - Southern Velebit by
Gracac 2 510 m
- Klementina Cave - Velebit 2 403 m
- Mandelaja Cave - Ostarije by Ogulin 2 326 m
- Munizaba Cave - Velebit 2 300 m
- Ponorac Caves - Suvaja Kordun 2 232 m
- Lukina Cave - Northern Velebit 1 392 m
- Slovacka - Northern Velebit 1 017 m
- Stara Skola - Biokovo 576 m
- Vilimova Cave - Biokovo 572 m
- Gorge on Bunjevac - South Velebit 534 m
- Jama za kamenitim vratima - Biokovo 520 m
- Fantomska Cave - Velebit 477 m
- Ledenica in Lomska Valley - Velebit 451 m
- Munizaba Cave - Velebit 448 m
- Stupina Cave - Bitoraj 413 m
- Nova velika jama - Biokovo 380 m
- Jama kod Raspora - Raspor, Cicarija 361m
- Biokovka - Biokovo 359 m
- Podgracisce - Island of Brac 329 m
- Klanski gorge (Gotovz) - by Rijeka 320 m
- Puhaljka - Southern Velebit 320 m
- Zaboravna Cave - Biokovo 311 m
- Mala (Crna) Kicljeva Cave - Skrad, Gorski kotar 285 m
- Balinka Plaski - Lika 283 m
- Jama kod Matesica stana - Island of Brac 280 m
- Pretnerova Cave - Biokovo 252 m
- Semicka Cicarija - Istria 236 m
CROATIA'S TOURIST CAVES
Tourist caves are speleological sites suitable for tourist and children who can visit them safely with the help of a guide during opening hours. Here is a list of tourist caves in Croatia:
- Veternica on Medvednica above Zagreb
- Grgosova Cave by Samobor
- Vrlovka in Kamanj by Ozalj
- Lokvarka by Lokve (Gorski kotar)
- Vrelo by Fuzine (Gorski kotar)
- Baredine Cave by Porecka Nova Vas (Istria)
- Biserujka (Vitezica Cave) on the island of Krk
(Hrvatsko Primorje)
- Golubnjaca in Plitvice National Park (Lika)
- Samogradska Cave by Perusic (Lika)
- Gornja Cerovacka Cave by Gracac (Lika)
- Donja Cerovacka Cave by Gracac (Lika)
- Manita Cave in Paklenica National Park (Southern Velebit)
- Vranjaca at the Southern Foot of Mosor (Dalmatia)
- Modra Cave on the Island of Bisevo (Dalmatia)
- Sipun in Cavtat (Dalmatia)
CAVE DIVING LOCATIONS
Besides traditional speleology, cave diving, that is exploring underwater caves, is becoming more and more popular. Cave diving consists of two disciplines: Recreational cave diving - diving in underwater caves without particular knowledge of speleological techniques and Professional cave diving - diving in underwater caves, springs or in waters in land caves for which knowledge of diving and speleological techniques is a must. All interested in cave diving can contact the Croatian Cave Diving Society (HSRD) at www.hpm.hr/hsrd/HSRD.htm
MOUNTAIN RESCUE SERVICE - SPLIT
headquarters: Šibenska 41, 21000 Split
tel.: +385/21-569-861
fax: +385/21-543-477
gsm: +385/98-320-513
Working Hours: Monday from 19 to 22
Thursday from 18 to 21
In case of emergency, call +385/21-569-861 or +385/98-320-513

UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY

Current knowledge of human physiology, the high level of reliability of diving equipment and an improvement in exploratory techniques have transformed cave diving from being a merely hazardous adventure to an absolute experience in which elements from different fields, functioning in total synergy, not only satisfy the legitimate curiosity of Homo sapiens of exploring the unknown, but also help them acquire more information and developments that amplify the concept of science as a sovereign human activity.
Photo by Francisco J.S. Lima Cave's and underwater's environments have substantial common similarities. Speleological and underwater characteristics makes the underwater speleology an high-risk activity.
Nowadays the term diver is not enough to identify who is involved into those activities. Underwater speleology is actually developing into two separate branches.
The real underwater speleologists try to carry out explorations of hypogean systems that have flooded areas inside, because after those areas (called siphones) is often possible to go on with the exploration into dry caves.
After those explorators, derived from speleologist, there is another kind of diver, that might be named hydronaut speleologist. Those specialists explore deep and long caves, using big, heavy and sophisticated equipments, and particular immersion techniques.
Those activities may help us to improve our knowledges about the ecological, biological, geological, archaeological and hydrological points of view of the area we're actually working on.

Foto di Lorenzo Epis Lorenzo Epis
Instructor of underwater speleology - ANIS, Italy

Extreme Sports