Nöbetçi Eczaneler
Erasto Crisanto Valdez disappeared on 23 July while fishing with his father near San Francisco La Paz, in the municipality of Santa María Chimalapa, close to the border with Veracruz.
Valdez said he had entered the chamber in pursuit of a robalo, the Spanish word for common snook, but was unable to relocate the exit.
Using only a small cylinder of breathing air, he quickly ran out of air and lost consciousness, but woke to find himself inside a dry section of the cave.
Valdez’s father tried unsuccessfully to locate his son before raising the alarm. A search operation was mounted initially by relatives, local residents, and civil-protection personnel, with Mexican Navy divers later joining the operation.
Valdez was formally reported missing on 26 July. His harpoon was subsequently found at around 65 metres (213ft) into the cave system, but repeated underwater searches failed to find him.
The Navy eventually called off its search on 30 July, although the municipal government of Uxpanapa said the wider operation would continue, and requested assistance from a group of experienced cave divers the next day.
American cave-diving instructor Harry Gust, based in Tulum, travelled to the area with Mexican diver Rosalino ‘Rosso’ Rivera, where they were joined by cave experts Robbie Schmittner, Phillip Lehman, Jonathan Rivera and Carlos Jiménez.
Gust said that, by the time he joined the operation, the mission had been presented to him as a body recovery, rather than a rescue.
Entering the cave alone on the first day, he spent 75 minutes diving in terrible conditions, carrying out three search patterns before finding a small Spare Air cylinder about 100m into the cave.
Gust said the cave was almost blind, with visibility of less than one metre and sharp rock that made it difficult to maintain a continuous guideline.
‘The cave had less than one metre of visibility, few or no possibilities of placing a safety line and all the formations inside were extremely sharp,’ he said. ‘I had to end my search and leave, following my line.’
Gust returned the following day and, within about 30 minutes, reached a large dry chamber fed by a fast-flowing river around 2m wide.
‘I shouted, asking if anyone was there, and Erasto replied with a “yes”,’ Gust said.
Valdez was around 10m farther inside the chamber, sheltered in a niche in the cave wall. Gust could not see him, but told him he would return with help.
Erasto Crisanto Valdez, pescador de 31 años, relató cómo logró sobrevivir durante 15 días atrapado a más de 100 metros de profundidad en un cenote entre Veracruz y Oaxaca.#nrtmexico #erasto #veracruz #oaxaca #rescate pic.twitter.com/j2L3HUQlyi
— NRT México (@nrtmexico_) August 11, 2026
Gust returned with Rosalino Rivera, who removed his tanks to cross the dry section and reach Valdez, then helped him to the water’s edge where they were able to assess his fitness for the exit.
Fortunately, Valdez knew how to use a mask and regulator, and although he was severely malnourished and dehydrated, he was able to breathe from Rivera’s alternate air source as they swam him to the exit.
‘With Erasto breathing from Rosso’s cylinder, we began the exit without any problem and, once outside the cave, we handed Erasto over to the support team that was on the surface,’ Gust said.
Valdez was brought out on 7 August and taken by ambulance to the Uxpanapa Regional Hospital suffering from severe dehydration and significant weight loss.
He said he had survived without food, drinking fresh water and praying, and with no daylight to mark the passing of time, believed he had been underground for only a few days. ‘For me it was three days, but the people here say it was 15 or 16,’ he said.
Valdez was later discharged and has been able to return home. He has since thanked his rescuers in a video posted on the municipality’s Facebook page. ‘I have no way to thank you or repay you for so many kind gestures. May God repay you,’ he said.
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