'I was sucked through an Antarctic iceberg and trapped underwater -I had to fight for my life'

Canadian diver Jill Heinerth became the archetypal idiosyncratic to research caves wrong an iceberg successful Antarctica alongside her erstwhile husband, Paul Heinerth, and precocious camera relation Wes Skiles

A pistillate diver has recalled the terrifying infinitesimal she was sucked done an Antarctic iceberg and trapped underwater - leaving her warring for her life.

Canadian diver Jill Heinerth became the archetypal idiosyncratic to research caves inside an iceberg successful Antarctica alongside her erstwhile husband, Paul Heinerth, and precocious camera relation Wes Skiles. The expedition, which astir outgo the unit their lives, saw them conflict unpredictable currents and freezing temperatures during the 2001 trip.

On their last dive, the trio narrowly escaped decease aft they were sucked into an iceberg by a beardown current. Jill, present 60, has recalled the horrific moment, saying "I was the archetypal to cave dive wrong an iceberg, truthful we had nary thought what we mightiness encounter."

Writing successful People, she said: "We experienced calving [chunks of crystal breaking away] that blocked the doorway we had entered. We experienced a ferocious existent that swept america done the iceberg, depositing america connected the different broadside of a monolithic portion of crystal and distant from the presumption of the boat. The last dive wrong the iceberg became a combat for our lives erstwhile unexpected currents abruptly switched and made it astir intolerable to escape."

The diver admitted she had dived down to the determination doubly earlier but was "nervous" astir a 3rd attempt. She said: "I thought taking these risks truly mattered for our knowing of the satellite and the changes we were facing moving forward, but I was nervous."

The adjacent shave with decease was owed to the iceberg creating "weird currents and turnovers" owed to the quality successful densities betwixt the iceberg water, which is caller water, and water water, which is brackish water. "So astatine times, we would beryllium swimming adjacent to the crystal and past abruptly beryllium sucked downward. It truly felt similar a chaotic environment. It was accommodate oregon dive", Jill added.

She dived astir 130ft down "not knowing adjacent wherever the seafloor was" connected her archetypal dive. "And that's truly astatine the borderline of wherever we wanted to beryllium moving successful this precise adjacent situation due to the fact that heavy dives necessitate a longer clip to dilatory travel backmost to the surface," she wrote.

Jill confessed she should person realised thing was incorrect erstwhile she noticed filter-feeding organisms connected the seafloor. "I should person paid attraction instantly due to the fact that the existent was strong, and the existent brings nutrient to the stationary animals that were anchored tightly into the seafloor. And that should person been 1 of those benignant of "A-ha" [moment]. Everything was anchored present due to the fact that it needed to be."

After the existent picked up and proceeding cracks and thuds, they turned to travel retired and started to aquatics up but the doorway they got into was not determination anymore. She revealed the "ice had either blown successful oregon caved disconnected the iceberg." Fortunately, the radical was capable to find a caller mode out, she revealed successful a caller documentary, Diving into the Darkness.