Incident Report

2012-01-12This dig site had not been visited for the best part of a year due to continuous floods. I entered the dig feet firstthe obvious choice in a narrow descending passage with no turn round point at the limitand on a 30 degree slope.The intention was to check the stability of the slope to assess the situation and plan the next move. Water levels were low and visibility excellent until I entered the lower section. Over a body length in I felt rocks hitting my helmet and realised a slump had occurred.I could only wait for the water to clear and hope it settled down. This it did and although it digging was neededsurface was regained.Stabilise the slope as best you can before enteringeven if it does mean losing ground.A bit of extra clearing next time is not such a problem. Descending feet first is still the safe option in this situation.Had I gone in head first it would have been somebody else doing this report.However due to the silt being washed up and in front of me I was unable to see just how unstable the place was. A surface standby diver is an absolute must in this situation.