The fisherman recovering in his hospital bed – credit, Municipal Government of Uxpanapa
A harrowing story of survival and perseverance comes to us from Mexico, where a fisherman was rescued after spending 15 days in a pitch black cave.
The man, Erasto Crisanto Valdez, said he trusted in god to deliver him from the situation, which he survived by drinking rainwater and breathing from an air pocket.
According to the Municipal Government of Uxpanapa which organized the rescue operation, Valdez got lost in the cave while fishing in a cenote, Mexico’s famous limestone sinkholes.
Swimming down into a cave, darkness quickly enveloped the man until he was unable to find the way he came from. That was on July 23rd, and it wasn’t until August 7th that he was located.
The government said in a statement that the rescue required “an exhaustive 15-day operation coordinated by the Civil Protection of our municipality.”
“The rescue operations involved an unprecedented deployment on land, river, and air, guided by the firm conviction of not giving up until finding him. This historic achievement is the result of the close collaboration and joint effort of the three levels of government and high-level specialists.”
Valdez was transported to the hospital after being found in a condition of extreme malnourishment and dehydration. He hadn’t seen light in 15 days, and had lost all track of time.
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“When I first entered that cave … I never imagined there was an air chamber there … Those 15 days felt like only three days to me,” Valdez recalled. “There’s a spring running through the middle … so when I felt thirsty or hungry, I’d drink the water from the cenote.”
“I couldn’t see a thing out there—you could only hear the lake—and I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. I kept my faith in God … to help me survive.”
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Caves are arguably the most dangerous environments humans could venture into—submerged ones all the more so—and should only ever be done with all the necessary equipment, and only when they are well-mapped.
If for any reason you do decide to enter a cave, ensure your light source can last several hours and leave trail markings to help you find your way out—even something as simple as potato chips could prove lifesaving.
SHARE This Man’s Deliverance From The Most Nightmarish Of Scenarios…
