Horror as female diver is sucked through Antarctic iceberg and trapped underwater by ferocious current

A female diver has shared the horrors she faced after she was sucked through an Antarctic iceberg and trapped underwater by a ferocious current.

Jill Heinerth, now 60, a Canadian cave diver and underwater explorer, recounted in an article for People how she dove hundreds of feet to intercept the largest iceberg in history.

She told how she, her former husband Paul Heinerth and late camera operator Wes Skiles encountered unpredictable currents and freezing temperatures during the multi-day dive.

Then, on the final dive, the trio narrowly escaped being trapped when they were sucked into the iceberg by an extremely strong current.

Literally minutes later, we might not have prevailed, wrote Heinerth, whose dives are chronicled in a new documentary, Diving into the Darkness.

 Jill Heinerth, now 60, a Canadian cave diver and underwater explorer, recounted in an article for People how she dove hundreds of feet to intercept the largest iceberg in history

She told how she, her former husband Paul Heinerth and late camera operator Wes Skiles encountered unpredictable currents and freezing temperatures during the multi-day dive

Heinerth said she had dived down to the location twice before she almost lost her life.

I thought taking these risks really mattered for our understanding of the planet and the changes we were facing moving forward, but I was nervous, she recounted thinking prior to the first dive, Heinerth explained.

She explained that as the iceberg melts it creates weird currents and turnovers due to the difference in densities between the iceberg water, which is fresh water, and the ocean, which is salt water.

So at times, we would be swimming close to the ice and then suddenly be sucked downward. 

It really felt like a chaotic environment. It was adapt or dive.

The diver said she had dived down to the location of the iceberg in the Antarctic twice before she almost lost her life

On the first dive, Heinerth said she ventured about 130 feet down not knowing even where the seafloor was.

And thats really at the edge of where we wanted to be working in this very close environment because deep dives require a longer time to slowly come back to the surface, she wrote.

The experienced diver said she should have realized something was wrong when she saw filter-feeding organisms on the seafloor.

I should have paid attention immediately because the current was strong, and the current brings food to the stationary animals that were anchored tightly into the seafloor, Heinerth recounted.

And that should have been one of those sort of "A-ha" [moment]. Everything was anchored here because it needed to be. 

Soon the current picked up.

We were hearing all of these cracks and thuds. I could feel them in my sternum, she said.

We turned to come out and started to swim up, but I realized that the doorway wed gone into was not there anymore. That ice had either blown in or caved off the iceberg and literally closed off our access.

The group was ultimately able to find a new way out, and later made a second dive to the same location.

Heinerth said she thought taking these risks really mattered for our understanding of the planet and the changes we were facing moving forward

On the first dive, Heinerth said she dove about 130 feet down not knowing even where the seafloor was

This time, the current was even stronger and we literally got ripped through the iceberg and deposited on the other side where we had to take a very slow return back to the surface to account for the time that wed been underwater, Heinerth shared.

And then the last time we dove in that particular spot, we realized it was a bad idea to let the current sweep us through.

She said the current was so strong that time she was literally digging my hands into the seafloor to pull myself along all while having a leak in her glove that was sort of paralyzing my hand because it was so cold.

It was then that the planned one-hour dive turned into this three-hour fight for our lives, Heinerth said, as the group was sucked into the iceberg.

When they say your life flashes before your eyes, it doesnt really, Heinerth said.

You think a couple of really stupid thoughts. And then you go, "Wait a minute. Ive got to focus."

Im not able to think about how to get out of the iceberg. Im just thinking, "Whats the next best step towards survival."

At the same time, though, she said, she kept worrying that they would die.

On the final dive, Heinerth and her crew were sucked into the iceberg by the strong currents

She then decided to take charge she said, telling Skiles to ditch the large camera he was carrying.

Every time youre working really hard on the rebreather, a diving apparatus, youre actually pushing the limits of what its capable of doing, Heinerth explained. If its incapable of processing the  amount of carbon dioxide youre expelling, then you can pass out.

And if I was suddenly having to worry about not just myself, but rescuing my colleague, itd be game over for both of us.

She said the trick is to stay calm as she called the dive and tried to lead her fellow divers back to the surface.

If she hadnt, Heinerth said, We might not have gotten out and there wouldnt have been any rescue.

There was no one there equipped to rescue us, she explained. The most qualified people are already in the cave.

Heinerth recounted how she tried to stay calm as she called the dive and tried to lead her fellow divers back to the surface

At first, she said, she had trouble getting back up because every time I tried, the current would sweep us back down and back into the iceberg.

Eventually, though, she realized there were little thumb-sized fish that were burrowing into the ice wall, and she could use the holes they were creating as handholds to pull herself up.

They had to keep finding places where they could hide against the current during the climb, but then youre still, and its colder than ice cubes freezing in your refrigerator because salt water has to be colder to freeze.

Ultimately, the crew was able to reach back to the surface - but that proved to be dangerous in itself.

The worst risk is actually as soon as you hit the surface, when you can literally freeze tissue on the spot, especially if its windy when youre trying to get in the boat, Heinerth wrote. 

The longer youre underwater, the more youre likely to get hypothermia or cold injuries, she explained, noting that she was really worried about her exposed hand.

When the crew finally made it back to the boat, Heinerth said her first words were: The cave tried to keep us today

When the crew finally made it back to the boat, Heinerth said her first words were: The cave tried to keep us today.

She said the experience was intensely overwhelming.  

I knew we had been close to dying but I also remember having a very acute sense of witnessing a changing world, Heinerth concluded. 

This is an omen for the planet, she said. Ive seen the mechanics of how [the iceberg] breaks and that this is happening all over the planet.

Just a few hours after Heinerth and her crew surfaced, she said, the iceberg broke into chunks of slush as far as the eye could see.