Thai cave rescue diver Richard Harris devised an experiment. If it worked, he’d be a hero. If it didn’t, he could explode

<p>New Zealand’s Pearce Resurgence is legendary among expert cave divers for its depth and difficulty. When an Australian explorer became obsessed with diving deeper into it, he hatched a daring plan that could cost his life</p><p>Deep in a valley in the New Zealand wilderness, clear cold water rushes across moss-covered rocks.</p><p>In the morning the mist rises up and lays across the valley. In the afternoon sun glints on the Pearce River, shafts of light filter through native tree canopy. It is a fecund, primeval place. The water has flowed down through tunnels in Mount Arthur, in South Island’s north-west, to meet at the Pearce Resurgence at its base. On the surface it looks innocuous, a calm pond. But beneath it is one of the largest and deepest cave networks in the world; unfathomable, an unknown habitat, seemingly bottomless.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/01/thai-cave-rescue-diver-richard-harris-pearce-resurgence-documentary-deeper">Continue reading...</a>