| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seavers, Kent | 30 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
On March 19, 1983, three cavers were exploring in a West Virginia cave. After some ten hours of caving they started out. About half-way out, still below the 6th climb to the entrance, they stopped to recarbide. As Kent Seavers (30) opened his pack there was a tremendous explosion. The acetylene fireball burned Seavers' face, singeing his eyebrows and causing loss of vision in both eyes. It was decided to self-rescue, both because of hypothermiating conditions and the apparent urgent need of professional care for the victim's eyes. Between the group and the entrance were several tricky climbs and a section of breakdown involving tight squeezes. The victim climbed blind, on belay, using instructions from a companion. The breakdown squeezes were done with the victim keeping one hand on a companion's foot, for guidance. The trip out was without further incident. After a couple of weeks his eyesight was back to normal.
The cavers felt that the ballistic nylon pack was gas-tight, resulting in a rush of acetylene when opened. Neither the pack nor its contents were damaged, indicating that the gas in the pack did not explode. Their recommendation is that a pack have ventilation-that is, not be made water tight and thus air-tight-to lessen the degree of danger from gas build-up.
Kent Seavers (30) was injured due to an explosion caused by an acetylene gas build-up in a gas-tight pack during a cave trip.