Boesmansgat, also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is believed to be the sixth-deepest submerged freshwater cave (or sinkhole) in the world, having been dived to Шаблон:Convert. It is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Boesmansgat was believed to be first explored by amateur diver Mike Rathbourne in 1977. The lowest depth attained was by Nuno Gomes in 1996. Being at an altitude of over Шаблон:Convert this was a particularly challenging dive, requiring a decompression schedule equivalent for a dive to Шаблон:Convert feet at sea level.
On 24 November 2004, Verna van Schaik set the Guinness Woman's World Record for the deepest dive with a dive to Шаблон:Convert.
Eben Leyden died in 1993 after blacking out at Шаблон:Convert.
In 1994, while helping a team prepare for a dive, Deon Dreyer died on ascent at a depth of Шаблон:Convert.
Dreyer's body remained in the cave until being discovered ten years later at a depth of Шаблон:Convert by renowned cave diver David Shaw. On 8 January 2005 an attempt made by Shaw to recover the body resulted in his death, and nearly claimed the life of support diver Don Shirley. The bodies of Dreyer and Shaw were ultimately recovered on 12 January 2005, while part of the staff was recovering part of the technical equipment.
The death of the parents of one of the protagonists while diving in Bushman's Hole is an important plot device in Mo Hayder's novel Ritual.
