Boesmansgat

Boesmansgat, also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is a deep submerged freshwater cave (or sinkhole) in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, which has been dived to a depth of 282.6m.Boesmansgat was believed to have first been explored by amateur diver Mike Rathbourne, in 1977. The greatest depth attained was by Nuno Gomes, in 1996. Its altitude of over 1500m makes this a particularly challenging dive, requiring a decompression schedule equivalent for a dive to 339m feet at sea level. (Gomes' dive was a close call, as he got stuck in the mud on the bottom of Bushman's Hole for two minutes before escaping.)On 24 November 2004, Verna van Schaik set the Guinness Woman's World Record for the deepest dive with a dive to 221m.DeathsIn 1993, Eben Leyden died after blacking out at 60m.)In 1994, while helping a team prepare for a dive, Deon Dreyer died on ascent at a depth of 50m. Dreyer's body remained in the cave until being discovered ten years later at a depth of 270m by renowned cave diver David Shaw.On 8 January 2005, David Shaw died while attempting to recover Dreyer's body. (Shaw's close friend and support diver, Don Shirley, nearly died as well and was left with permanent ear damage that has impaired his balance.) On 12 January 2005, Dreyer and Shaw's bodies were ultimately recovered near the surface, while part of the staff was recovering part of the technical equipment.