Climber found dead in world’s deepest cave – more than 7,000 feet below ground | World | News
It took nine months to uncover his body (Image: jimfeng via Getty Images)
A body has been recovered from the world’s deepest cave, belonging to a climber who plunged to his death nine months earlier. His family had searched tirelessly for him ever since his disappearance.
Veryovkina Cave holds the title of the world’s deepest known cave, nestled within the remote landscape of Abkhazia, Georgia, plunging a staggering 7,257 feet into the earth’s depths.
The vast vertical drop exists as an entirely separate world, devoid of any sunlight, and is only attempted by the most elite and experienced of climbers.
Simply mapping the cave required decades of exploration, with more than 30 expeditions needed before seasoned cavers could reach its very lowest point.
The remarkable natural phenomenon was first uncovered in 1968 by a group of Russian speleologists, after which it remained largely unexplored for many years.
Sergei Igorivech Kozeev went missing in August 2021 (Image: Find a Grave)
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It was not until the 2000s the Perovo-speleo team began venturing further into its depths and its true scale and extraordinary magnitude began to reveal itself – surpassing anything anyone could have anticipated.
It is against this backdrop of mystery and formidable challenge that one lone explorer met a terrifying end, 1,100 metres beneath the surface.
Named by local media as Sergei Kozeev from Sochi, the climber first vanished in November 2021. It was not until August 3 the following year his remains were discovered by Russian cavers, who subsequently notified Abkhazia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Upon reaching the treacherous cave, rescuers spotted a rope at the entrance before discovering Kozeev’s belongings. Shortly afterwards, they found his body, attached to a rope approximately 1,100 metres inside the cave, lifeless and alone.
He was inside of the cave for months (Image: wiki commons)
Further investigation allowed them to identify the body using photographs found on the mobile phone recovered with the deceased.
Evgeny Snetkov, a member of the Board of the Union of Cavers, revealed that they believed Kozeev was a tourist who had attempted the descent ‘not adequately prepared’ for the extreme demands of the cave.
They further stated: “The deceased was a so-called multitourist, who is involved in different sports. So he decided to take up speleology, but, unfortunately, he chose a difficult cave, which ruined him.”
Retrieving his body proved to be an enormously complex undertaking, though cavers were ultimately able to carry it out with authorisation from the Russian prosecutor’s office.
It required a team of up to 100 climbers to attempt the recovery from Veryovkina Cave, and Kozeev was finally brought back to the surface nine months later.
The precise cause of his death remains unknown, with some believing he perished from the fall while others suggest the cave’s brutal conditions were to blame.
Hypothermia may well have claimed his life, given the cave’s freezing temperatures of around three to four degrees Celsius. As climbers descend into the cave, they are immediately confronted with a treacherous labyrinth of tight squeezes, pits and shafts, with every new passage presenting its own unique challenge.
The cave was left unexplored for decades (Image: Shutterstock)
Having dropped down into kilometres of pitch-black darkness, explorers must then tackle a hazardous climb back to the surface — no mean feat when weighed down by essential but cumbersome climbing equipment.
Given such punishing conditions, it comes as little surprise that fellow climbers and visitors have found themselves in perilous situations. Indeed, in 2008, a team of Perovo-speleo cavers, which included National Geographic photographers, narrowly escaped with their lives.
Without any warning, while the climbers rested at their deepest camp, they were suddenly confronted by thunderous floodwaters that generated a deafening, earthquake-like rumble and swallowed their entire campsite whole.
His body was found halfway down the drop (Image: PJakopin/Wikimedia Commons)
They had only seconds to make their escape, where a single misstep could have proved fatal.
The photographer recalled the terrifying ordeal, saying: “I just thought, ‘Oh my goodness. We have to leave right now. We cannot wait. If we just hang around, we’re all going to die.'”
The group fought desperately to flee as torrents of water crashed down upon them, with the flooding persisting for nearly 20 hours. E
very exit route was submerged, cutting off all means of escape and leaving the stricken team stranded in what has been described as a “claustrophobic nightmare”.
