Sheck Exley - Death

Death

He died, aged 45, on April 6, 1994 while attempting to descend to a depth of over 300 metres (1,000 ft) in a cenote called Zacatón in Mexico. He made the dive as part of a dual dive with Jim Bowden, but Bowden aborted his descent early when his gas supply ran low. Exley's body was recovered when it rose spontaneously to the surface, where it was found that he had looped into the descent line, perhaps to sort out gas issues. His wrist-mounted dive computer read a maximum depth of 268 meters (879 ft).

The cause of Exley's death could not be determined. Team members concluded the causes "...could include stress of HPNS exacerbated by the narcotic effects of nitrogen at that depth". The line was also wrapped (deliberately) around Exley's tank valves. Bowden and other experts have theorized that Exley may have done this in anticipation of his own death to prevent any dangerous body recovery operations.