Spanish cave diver Xisco Gràcia spent two days stuck underground before he was rescued in Mallorca Monday. The 55-year-old speleologist and his buddy, Guillem Mascaró, were diving in the cave of Sa Piqueta April 15. A guideline broke while the two were surveying the cave. Low visibility exacerbated the problem and by the time the divers were able to regain their bearings they were running low on gas — so low that they did not have enough air for both of them to make it out.

They decided that Mascaró would take the remaining tanks and go for help (using a longer, alternative path to bypass the broken line) while Gràcia remained behind in an underground air pocket. The subterranean room he waited in is about 330 feet by 130 feet and had a number of lakes around the sides.

Gràcia spent most of his time there in complete darkness. “I was trying to save the flashlight, so I turned it on to drink water from the lake and to pee,” Gràcia told the Diario de Mallorca. “But after so long breathing in air so charged with CO2 I sometimes saw things, like lights or bubbles, and thought they had come to rescue me and when they did not arrive I was discouraged.”

More than 60 people participated in the rescue effort including cave-diving experts from the Grupo Especial de Actividades Subacuáticas (GEAS) of the Civil Guard as well as local and national police and firefighters.

On Sunday, high levels of sediment in the water thwarted rescue attempts. “We know perfectly well where he was, that was in the grotto where I had left him,” Mascaró told the Diario de Mallorca. “The problem was getting there, because the water was very cloudy, it was like scuba diving in a bowl of cocoa.”

After the scrubbed rescue, emergency technicians tried to drill a hole that could supply Gràcia with fresh air and food, but failed to reach him.

John Freddy and Bernat Clamor, two cave-diving experts and members of the Grup Nord de Majorca, returned for another search the following day after visibility improved. They made contact with Gràcia 2,952 feet from the entrance around 6 in the afternoon. They spent half an hour with him and supplied him with food and drink before beginning the task of bringing in the necessary materials to evacuate Gràcia from Sa Piqueta.

He exited the cave around 11:30 that evening under his own power, after being trapped underground for about 60 hours. He was transferred to Son Espases hospital for overnight observation and was released the following morning.

Gràcia is considered an expert in underwater speleology and is credited with discovering many of Mallorca’s underwater caves. His reputation as an experienced cave diver is why rescuers and relatives were optimistic that he would be found alive.

Gràcia is ready and willing to continue exploring these caves. “When you go out, anything can happen to you. To know the underground of Mallorca is an important job. Life continues and you move forward,” he told the Diario de Mallorca.