Who was Brett Hemphill? Record-breaking diver, 56, dies in Texas' deepest underwater cave during expedition
PHANTOM SPRINGS, TEXAS: Brett B Hemphill, a renowned cave diver, has died during his expedition in one of the deepest underwater caves in the US.
On October 4, the 56-year-old adventurer who set multiple cave diving records was exploring the Phantom Springs Cave in Texas, and his body was recovered on Sunday, October 8, reports People.
How did Brett Hemphill die?
According to a statement issued by a nonprofit underwater exploration group called Karts Underwater Research (KUR) which was founded by Hemphill, he failed to return after his exploration with his colleague Andy Pitkin.
The nonprofit group stated that the record-breaking diver had been on a dive with Pitkin who is also the director of KUR.
The duo set off their expedition at around 10.45 am in the underwater cave "starting in 450 feet of water at about 7300 feet of penetration."
Hemphill was last seen on video securing a guideline at approximately 570 feet into the cave before the two divers separated.
However, he never resurfaced prompting an immediate response from his team to recover him "from a depth of over 450 feet and over a mile into the underwater cave," according to KUR.
How was Brett Hemphill's body recovered?
The nonprofit stated that the process required to recover Hemphill is complex and would take "a number of recovery divers" traveling to the caves to locate him and "cave diver recoveries are logistically difficult."
Four days after Hemphill initially dived underwater, his body was recovered by the divers on Sunday.
"We finished recovering Brett from the cave this evening," read Pitkin's statement posted on the nonprofit group's social media on Sunday, October 8.
"Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way. When we have got all the information and analyzed it, we will issue a statement about the incident that will answer everyone's questions," said Pitkin.
"Until then, please allow us some time to come to terms with his loss, as up until now we have been focused on the recovery," he added.
Brett Hemphill has broken numerous underwater diving records
According to Hemphill's biography on the KUR website, his passion for exploration and cave diving began at a young age when he discovered an unchartered section of a cave during a youth dry cave excursion.
Since then, he went on to lead numerous expedition groups and continued to break several underwater diving records.
His notable achievements included breaking the United States deep underwater cave record in Florida's Weeki Wachee Springs in 2008.
He was also known for making the deepest connection between the Weeki Wachee and Twin Dees caves in the United States in 2014.