Last update: June 26, 2007
Report a Caving Accident or Incident!
Copyright © 2006 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.
The current file of reports for 2004 includes the incidents listed below. In some cases the reports are incomplete. If you have information about such incidents or about an incident which is not listed here, please contact the ACA Editor at aca@caves.org or use the online accident report form to report it.
Incidents listed in red are those for which the file is incomplete. The standard information required for an ACA incident summary is listed in the style guide.
2004 Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 24 January | Cumberland Caverns | Tennessee | fatality | illness, heart attack in cave |
| 27 February | Sweet Potato Cave | Kentucky | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 17 March | Cueva de Alpazat | Puebla, Mexico | aid, no injury | flood entrapment |
| 20 March | Cave of the Farside | Colorado | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 23 March | Beware Cave | Utah | fatality | drowning |
| 3 April | unspecified cave on Cerro de Estrella | Mexico DF | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 8 April | New River Cave | Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 10 April | Oregon Caves | Oregon | aid, no injury | illness, fainted in cave, history or heart trouble |
| 18 April | Lost Fossil Cave | New Mexico | aid, no injury | rockfall entrapment |
| 24 April | unspecified cave near Spokane | Washington | injury and aid | caver fall, lost control on rappel |
| 2 May | Fort Stanton Cave | New Mexico | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| 14 May | Bell Cavern | Colorado | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 27 May | Catacombs Cave | California | aid, no injury | lost |
| 17 June | Smiths Crack | Idaho | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 25 June | Peppersauce Cave | Arizona | no consequence | lost |
| 5 July | Ape Cave | Washington | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 28 July | Long Cold Cave | Nevada | injury and aid | rockfall |
| 18 August | Devils Den | Arkansas | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 20 August | Nutty Putty Cave | Utah | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 4 September | Nutty Putty Cave | Utah | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 9 October | Narrows Cave | Colorado | injury and aid | rockfall entrapment |
| 9 October | Waterworks Cave | Tennessee | injury and aid | dislocated shoulder |
| 1 December | Devils Punchbowl | Guam | fatality | caver fall, fell into 50-foot deep entrance pit |
Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents |
||||
2004 Diving Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 25 January | Forty Fathom Grotto | Florida | aid and injury | lost consciousness |
| 16 March | Nohoch Na Chich | Yucatan, Mexico | fatality | lost consciousness, contaminated gas |
| 16 March | Cenote Dos Ojos | Yucatan, Mexico | fatality | lost consciousness, contaminated gas |
| 26 March | unnamed sea cave on Oahu | Hawaii | fatality | cause unknown |
| 8 April | Cueva Oztoquito | Puebla, Mexico | fatality | cause unknown |
| 12 June | Eagles Nest | Florida | two fatalities | siltation, lost guideline, out of air |
| 21 August | Devils Ear | Florida | fatality | no guideline, out of air |
| 9 December | Sac Actun | Yucatan, Mexico | two fatalities | lost, out of air |
Caving-Related Incidents |
||||
2004 Caving-related Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 10 January | unnamed cave at La Joya | SLP, Mexico | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 18 January | unnamed pit near Gomez Farias | Tamaulipas, Mexico | fatality | intoxicated man fell into pit beside trail |
| 18 January | unnamed sinkhole near Apopka | Florida | injury and aid | walker swallowed by collapsing sinkhole |
| 23 February | unspecified Warren County cave | Kentucky | no consequence | meth lab discovered in cave |
| 22 March | Wabasha Street Caves | Minnesota | no consequence | explosives found in tunnel |
| 15 April | Sotano de La Garza | Puebla, Mexico | fatality | intoxicated man fell into pit beside trail |
| 26 April | cave near Decatur | Alabama | no consequence | lost in woods hiking back from cave |
| 27 April | unnamed sea cave on Hwy 1, San Mateo County | California | no consequence | car washed into sea cave after accident |
| 27 April | Wabasha Street Caves | Minnesota | three fatalities | asphyxiated by campfire built in tunnel |
| 13 May | sea cave at Panther Beach | California | aid, no injury | stranded in sea cave by rising tide |
| 21 June | unspecified cave on Lewis Peak | Utah | aid, no injury | stranded at cave entrance on cliff |
| 28 June | McFails Cave | New York | no consequence | dog stranded in cave |
| 3 July | Climax Cave | Georgia | injury, no aid | stung by wasps at cave entrance |
| 11 July | Sotano del Xoconostle | SLP, Mexico | fatality | intoxicated man fell into pit beside trail |
| 4 August | unspecified lava tube, Kiholo Bay | Hawaii | fatality | drowned while free diving in lava tube |
| 23 August | Matacanes Canyon | Nuevo Leon, Mexico | injury and aid | fall, broken ankle on canyoneering/caving trip |
| 31 October | unnamed cave near Jochib | Chiapas, Mexico | two fatalities | children reported missing in cave |
| 14 December | unnamed cave near Scottsville | Kentucky | no consequence | dog stranded in cave |
Copyright © 2007 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.