Divers to resume exploration of WORLD'S DEEPEST CAVE to discover underwater secrets
DIVERS are about to resume their search of the world's deepest underwater cave to see if its record-breaking depths can deliver any more secrets.
A diver explores Hranicka Propast - the world's deepest cave
Researchers have already identified the flooded limestone cave, called Hranicka Propast, as the deepest of its kind after they reached 404 metres below the Earth's surface - or the same height as New York’s iconic Empire State Building.
Access to the underwater part of the cave, which is located 300km (186 miles) east from Prague, is inside a gorge nestled within a forest.
Exploration was halted last September because the cord of a submersible robot used for the expedition was not enough to reach the bottom of the cave, Michal Guba from the Czech Speleological Society said.
The search has been led by Polish diving expert Krzysztof Starnawski, who has been exploring the site since 1997.
Mr Starnawski has extensively explored the caves including finding a narrow opening 200 metres down, which led to him lowering a probe through the sharf to a depth of 384 metres.
Deep, dark and gloomy Hranicka Propast
Describing the exploration, he told National Geographic last year: “It was amazing, because it meant that we had found the deepest cave on Earth.
“But the most important thing that we saw on the camera was the continuation of this cave. That means we haven't finished this project—not yet. We finished only one part: crossing the 400-meter mark that we had set for ourselves four years ago.”
Regarding the aborted exploration last year, fellow diver David Cani said the mini-submarine then got tangled in its cords and has remained in the water but added it could be retrieved in April.
The cave, which has become tourist attraction, is not accessible during winter.
Visitors peer into the opening of Hranicka Propast
Exploration of Hranicka Propast is set to resume
It is dark, gloomy there, but I had a euphoric feeling when I got there
Mr Cani said: “It is dark, gloomy there, but I had a euphoric feeling when I got there.
"The rock of the cave goes 1.2 kilometres deep, but if we reach 500 metres, we will be happy too."