Epic flood sends cavers scrambling for their lives
Half an hour after receiving a warning call from two teammates at a high camp, eight cavers stationed at the bottom of the world’s deepest cave heard the roar of floodwaters.
The rumble grew, like a freight train hurtling through a tunnel. The entire cave began to shake as if by earthquake.
“It got louder and louder,” says Robbie Shone, a National Geographic cave photographer. “I will never forget that sound.”
Shone had just started breakfast, a pasta-and-meat dish prepared in advance with vacuum-sealed ingredients by Pavel Demidov, the expedition leader, world-class Russian caver, and culinary enthusiast....