| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyner, Ronnie | 24 | Male | Fatality | Not recorded |
On the weekend of April 12-13 Ronnie Tyner (24), John E. Swan (24), Merritt R. Steger (24), and Russell D. Hill (23), all from Texas, were among 50 divers from the Southwest who had come to explore the water-filled cave at Vortex Springs in Holmes County, Florida. The four named above entered the cave as a group. At a 'stop' sign about 250 feet from the entrance they attached a 'thin, twine-like line. The stop sign marks the farthest point divers are supposed to penetrate. The four continued, paying out the line behind them. When the four failed to return, the Sheriff was notified and rescue divers were called in. The four were found about 100 feet beyond the stop sign, drowned. According to rescue diver Johnny Manuel, "They were in about as big a mess as I've ever seen. This thin line was all over them. I imagine they got all tangled up and one of them panicked and everybody got in trouble. They hadn't even tried to cut themselves out. Their knives were still sheathed on their legs."
ANALYSIS: This multiple fatality brought the total fatalities in Vortex Springs to 24; nearby Morrison Spring in Walton County has claimed 28. These totals should remind us that cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports. In this case the cause might be debated. Would getting tangled in line make four men simultaneously panic? I rather suspect they might have gone too far for their air supplies and the panic of running out of air caused them to get tangled in the line in their haste to leave. A loss of light might have had the same result with a line one could not simply grasp and pull one's self along to safety. Obviously one should be prepared both mentally (perhaps by practicing emergencies) and equipment-wise (perhaps by trying various articles in controlled situations to see how they perform in potential emergencies).