After two years of preparation, dive partners Bill Gavin and Parker Turner thought they had meticulously planned every last detail of their excursion—a must in an extreme sport like cave diving. This would be the first in a series of dives the pair intended to complete,

The cave is located in a rugged, remote area in Xaisomboun province’s Longcheng district, about 120 kilometres north of the capital, Vientiane. View on euronews

The man from Brooklyn was hiking with friends at Merlin's Cave in the town of Canaan, when he became stuck in a crevice, New York State DEC said.

"It was like his whole body was stuck in a crevice that was basically designed to be the exact shape of him," a forest ranger said of the incident

Exploring deep, dangerous underwater cave systems offers scientists and divers unparalleled glimpses into Earth’s history, even though the margins for error are tragically slim.

Finnish divers found the Italians in a corridor with a dead end inside the cave complex, Italy's la Repubblica daily reported.

The cave is only accessible by boat and kayak tours due to regulations

The first pictures of the underwater cave where five Italian divers died have been made public as four of their bodies were repatriated to Milan Saturday for Italian prosecutors to advance their manslaughter investigation.