A diving instructor on his first-ever active body recovery mission was forced to search through a notorious underwater labyrinth in ‘zero visibility’ waters after a diver vanished in the cavern.
Rescuers were called to Twin Caves in the Blue Springs Recreation Area in Florida on Tuesday after three people failed to return to the surface on time.
The complex cave system features three passages that extend hundreds of feet below and multiple ‘jump tunnels’ that run off into wider tunnels.
Edd Sorenson, a world renowned diver and rescuer who owns a local scuba diving center, was 50 miles away from Merritt’s Mill Pond when one of the divers contacted him to report that two members of their party were missing.
Mehdi Zinetti, one of the instructors at Sorenson’s diving center, was forced to rush into action and began the search for the missing divers.
He located one of the divers and safely dragged her to land, before jumping back into the water to look for her friend, Sorenson told News 13.
Zinetti returned to the surface, thinking the diver had possibly made it out of the cavern through one of it’s multiple exits, but when he didn’t see him, the scuba instructor went back into the cave with his limited air supply.
Conditions at Twin Caves were clear Tuesday morning when the trio entered the labyrinth, but by the time Zinetti entered the cave so much sediment had been stirred up that he was in ‘complete zero visibility’ and had to do ‘everything by feel’.
Zinetti eventually found the victim and pulled him out, but despite best efforts, the diver could not be saved.
Mehdi Zinetti, (pictured) a diving instructor on his first-ever active body recovery mission, was forced to search through a notorious underwater labyrinth in ‘zero visibility’ waters after a diver vanished in the Twin Caves on Tuesday afternoon
Rescuers were called to Twin Caves in the Blue Springs Recreation Area in Florida on Tuesday after three people failed to return to the surface on time. The complex cave system features three passages that extend hundreds of feet below (file photo of a diver entering the cave)
Merritt’s Mill Pond is a popular swimming and diving spot due to its clear, light blue waters and lack of vegetation. The Twin Caves can be found roughly 88ft away from the swimming platform at the man-made pond (file photo)
Sorenson, who is America’s leading expert in dive rescues and recovery, received the rescue call around 1.15pm Tuesday while he was in Vortex Springs.
The Jackson County sheriff urged him to speed back to Merritt’s Mill Pond in Marianna, he claims, saying ‘I had carte blanche to a little faster the speed limit.’
Sorenson says he got on his boat and was headed back to the recreation area when Zinetti bravely went into Twin Caves to look for the missing divers.
‘Now, one of my instructors who’s been training to be a body recovery diver, he had not done a body recovery or a rescue,’ he explained.
He says Zinetti located the missing woman, asked ‘are you ok? Yes? You need to go. I got this’, and watched as she exited the cave herself.
The ‘intricate’ cave system allows for divers to return safely to the surface without being seen, Sorenson explained. But when Zinetti came back up and didn’t see the third diver, he knew he needed to go back in.
‘He came back in to search again and now he was on an open circuit instead of his rebreather,’ Sorenson said, suggesting that Zinetti’s air supply was low.
‘He went back in again. And now he is in complete zero visibility.’
Zinetti eventually found the diver, took note of what he could based on his training and, pulled him out of the water.
By the time Sorenson arrived, police and Florida Fish and Wildlife officials were already on the scene. CPR had been administered and a life flight was inbound, but the diver – who has not been named – has declared dead.
The coroner is working to determine the cause of death.
Edd Sorenson, (pictured) a world renowned diver and rescuer who owns a local scuba diving center, says conditions at Twin Caves were clear Tuesday morning when the trio entered the labyrinth, but by the time Zinetti entered the cave so much sediment had been stirred up that he was in ‘complete zero visibility’ and had to do ‘everything by feel’
The ‘intricate’ Twin Caves system allows for divers to return safely to the surface without being seen, Sorenson explained. Pictured is a file photo of a diver exploring the cavern
Sheriff Donnie Edenfield thanked Jackson County Fire & Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and the staff at Cave Adventures for their help with the rescue.
He also urged the community to 'please keep the families of the divers in your thoughts and prayers'.
Tuesday was the first time Zinetti ever carried out a body recovery or rescue, according to Sorenson.
Sorenson, who owns the nearby Cave Adventures Dive Shop, is a leading expert in dives and rescues.
He has conducted several body rescues and is reportedly the only person in the world to have completed more than one successful cave rescue in his lifetime.
He even successfully rescued a father and his teenage daughter from the dangerous Twin Caves system in 2012.
The Twin Caves are located at the bottom of Merritt's Mill Pond, situated in a park in Marianna, Florida, which is roughly 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee.
Merritt's Mill Pond is a popular swimming and diving spot due to its clear, light blue waters and lack of vegetation. The Twin Caves can be found roughly 88ft away from the swimming platform at the man-made pond, according to Cave Atlas.
The cave system extends back hundreds of feet and has three passages that drop to even greater depths. The cavern descends in stages going from 20ft to 100ft deep.
Cave Adventurers warns the cave system is a 'low flow cave' that can easily become filled or blocked with silt if divers are not careful.
The cavern is also very tight, with officials noting 'if you get nervous in small places, this isn't the passage for you'.
Merritt's Mill Pond (pictured) is a popular swimming and diving spot due to its clear, light blue waters and lack of vegetation
The Twin Caves are located at the bottom of Merritt's Mill Pond, situated in the Blue Springs Recreation Area in Marianna, Florida located roughly 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee (file photo of divers exploring the Twin Caves)
Twin Caves appears to be a notoriously dangerous diving spot, with social media users this week saying it is 'very sad' to learn the cavern has 'claimed another life' (file photo)
Sorenson (pictured in an undated photo) has conducted several body rescues and is reportedly the only person in the world to have completed more than one successful cave rescue in his lifetime. He even successfully rescued a father and his teenage daughter from the dangerous Twin Caves system in 2012
The cave system at Merritt's Mill Pond appears to be a notoriously dangerous diving spot, with several deaths reported over the years.
Clyde Douglas Rorex, 68, who frequently went diving in the pond area, died in July 2020 after getting trapped in the Hole in The Wall cave.
Rorex's family reported him missing on the morning on July 8 after he took off from a public boat ramp around 6am and failed to return by 10 am, as scheduled.
His body was recovered from the pond by Sorenson later that afternoon, News 13 reported at the time. Sorenson revealed Rorex had gotten trapped inside the cave.
Rorex had been diving 'for close to 20 years', police said, adding that he would dive in the area 'almost every day'.
Four years earlier, almost to the day, a 17-year-old boy drowned in Merritt's Mill Pond while attending a birthday party.
Jeremiah Sabeff was swimming near two large floats several with other children on July 9, 2016 when he vanished out of sight, NWF Daily News reported.
One of the other children tried to pull Sabeff to the surface but 'was not strong enough to keep him there and continue swimming', investigators said.
Clyde Douglas Rorex, 68, who frequently went diving in the Merritt's Mill Pond area, died in July 2020 after getting trapped in the Hole in The Wall cave
Jeremiah Sabeff, 17, drowned in Merritt's Mill Pond while attending a birthday party on July 9, 2016
A child informed their parent that Sabeff had gone under water and could not be found, prompting a search for the teen.
His lifeless body was found hidden in the sediment at the bottom of the pond by a parent whose child had attended the party.
Sabeff was pulled out of the water and was given CPR, according to the incident report, which notes how he had 'turned blue' and appeared to have 'lungs full of water'.
Paramedics took the teen to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
One social media user, commenting on Tuesday's tragedy, said it is 'very sad' to learn the cavern has 'claimed another life'.