A fisherman was rescued alive after spending 15 days trapped in a pitch-black underwater cave in southern Mexico. Erasto Crisanto Valdez, 31, disappeared on July 23 while on a fishing expedition with his father in San Francisco La Paz, a small rural community in the state of Oaxaca. He was found on August 7, dehydrated and with severe malnutrition, in a cave more than 300 feet deep.
Rescue described as a 'marvellous miracle'
Mr Valdez described his rescue as a 'marvellous miracle'. 'Thank God for giving me another opportunity in life and allowing me to see my children and my family', he told Nmas. He explained that he got stuck while trying to catch a robalo, a common snook. He said he drank, slept and prayed in the total darkness and lost his sense of time because there was no daylight.
International search effort
Explorers from Mexico, Germany, the US and the Dominican Republic joined the search, which took place under challenging conditions including poor visibility. Among those involved was American cave-diving instructor Harry Gust, based in Tulum, who believed he was on a mission to recover a body. After 75 minutes searching underwater, he luckily found a spare air tank some 100 metres inside the cave. He was forced to abandon his search and return the following day, when he found a 'large dry cave' with a small river flowing out of it where Mr Valdez was trapped. 'I could not see him but assured him that I was coming back for him with more help', he told Divernet.
Background on cenotes
Thousands of underwater cenotes exist on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, which were historically used by Mayan communities for water and sacrificial offerings.
