They ventured into the world’s second deepest cave: What they found will haunt you

In the pitch-black belly of the Earth, where sunlight has never touched and silence crushes the spirit, a team of elite Russian speleologists descended into Verëvkina Cave—one of the most extreme underground environments ever explored.

Located in the western Caucasus mountains of Abkhazia, Verëvkina isn’t just deep—it’s deadly. Though known for its staggering 7,244 feet (2,209 meters) of vertical drop, it’s what awaited explorers at the bottom that has stunned the world.

The expedition carried out last year, under the leadership of seasoned caver Pavel Demidov, was far from an ordinary mapping trip. Instead, it pushed human endurance to its breaking point and revealed haunting signs of life and death hidden in the darkness.

What is Verëvkina Cave—and why is it so dangerous?

First discovered in 1968 by Soviet cavers from Krasnoyarsk, Verëvkina spent over a decade forgotten, buried in obscurity. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Moscow-based exploration clubs “Perovo” and “Perovo-Speleo” began methodically pushing deeper into its vertical shafts.

By 2017, the team had descended to what was thought to be the cave’s deepest point—7,257 feet (2,212 meters)—a feat that earned it a Guinness World Record as the deepest known cave on Earth. However, in 2024, updated measurements revised that depth to 7,247 feet, placing it just ten feet shallower than Krubera Cave, another cavern in the Caucasus Mountains, which has now regained the world title.

But records weren’t the focus this time.

Life that has never seen the Sun

The 2024 expedition ventured all the way to a zone cavers call “The Siphon”—an icy underground lake nicknamed “Captain Nemo’s Last Stop.” What they found there could change how we understand life on Earth.

In total darkness and temperatures near freezing, scientists discovered more than 20 new species—living organisms perfectly adapted to the absence of light, colorless and blind after evolving for millions of years in total isolation.

The list includes leeches, centipedes, and even scorpion-like creatures, each uniquely suited to this alien world. “They are like nothing else on the planet,” said Ilya Turbanov, a biologist at Russia’s Papanin Institute of Inland Water Biology, in an interview with BAQ.

A human body, suspended in the abyss

But not all findings were scientific.

Roughly 3,641 feet down—over halfway through the descent—Demidov’s team encountered a chilling sight: a human corpse, hanging from a rope, swaying gently in the subterranean breeze.

The body was later identified as Sergey Kozeev, a 37-year-old tourist who had vanished in November 2024.

His remains, perfectly preserved in the cave’s cold, oxygen-starved atmosphere, were a stark reminder of just how unforgiving this environment can be. Even the most seasoned explorers tread here at their peril.

Verëvkina: between discovery and danger

Named in honor of Soviet speleologist Alexander Verevkin, Verëvkina Cave stands as both a symbol of human exploration and a relentless trial of our physical and mental endurance.

With its discovery of unknown species and the silent stories of tragedy hidden deep within, this vast and echoing chasm is far more than just a geological marvel—it reflects the heights of our ambition and the depths of our fear.

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