Three days after Lao Airlines Flight QV301 crashed into the Mekong River in Laos, killing all 49 people aboard, I found myself sandwiched between high-ranking government officials, recording the salvage from a makeshift barge in the middle of the river. My partner, Gabriele Stoia, and I had hitched a ride on a communist military police boat that brought us to the scene of the accident.

Gabry and I are not salvage experts; rather, we are ethnographers. We had come to record the endeavors of the 11 divers who risked their lives for an event that had been forgotten as quickly as it had occurred. 

The crew worked arduously for 14 consecutive days to salvage the wreckage and recover the victims. There was a 5-knot current running, viz was zero, and the divers had to dodge huge amounts of floating debris. Every day we witnessed unimaginable and often ­dangerous conditions for the divers. 

A local Laotian diver, Bounmixay Khanthayonngthong, led a salvage crew of 10 to recover the wreckage and retrieve the victims.

“We’ve never before dived in these circumstances,” Khanthayonngthong said. “We’re mechanics and welders at the hydroelectrical dam. We have zero salvage experience, and we are without proper equipment. Every day we risk our lives.”

The team searched a radius of more than 600 feet, using sonar and acoustical locating equipment in 25 to 40 feet of water, feeling with their hands and feet to find victims and parts of the wreckage.

The salvage operation was painfully slow. “We used rocks for anchors and buckets for buoys, and we measured parts of the wreckage with ropes,” Khanthayonngthong said. “We had to share our equipment and take turns ­diving in pairs.”

The divers successfully recovered a 32-foot section of the fuselage, a starboard wing, two engines, a horizontal stabilizer, the tail assembly and two flight recorders. The crew also r­ecovered 47 of the victims. 

• Fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years, whereas mammals have only been

• There are over 27,000 identified species of fish on the earth and an estimated 15,000 fish species

• There are more species of fish than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals

• Sailfish, Swordfish, and Marlin are the fastest fish in the ocean, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph,

• Many Rockfish can live hundreds of years. Rougheye Rockfish are the longest known living fish

• Out of more than 360 species of Sharks, only a handful of species pose a potential threat to

• A female Sunfish may lay 300,000,000 eggs at a single spawning season.

• A male Bangaii Cardinalfish will hold both eggs and babies in his mouth until the young are

• Catfish have over 27,000 taste buds, whereas humans have only 9,000.

• African Lungfish are capable of living out of water for up to two years. They hibernate

• Goldfish can live for decades. The oldest known Goldfish, "Goldie," died in 2005 at 45 years of

• The largest fish in the world is the Whale Shark. The largest recorded Whale Shark was 12.6 m

• Whale Sharks also lay the largest eggs of any animal. A Whale Shark egg measuring 35.6 cm (14

• The largest predatory Shark is the great White Shark. The largest one ever caught was 11.3 m (37

• It takes approximately seven years for the average American Lobster to reach one pound.

• The largest Octopus in the world is the Pacific Giant Octopus. Although it is only about the size

• The Giant Squid is the largest creature without a backbone. It grows up to 16.8 m (55 ft) across

Vampire Squid Facts - Vampyroteuthis infernalis

Author of the illustration: Carl Chun

Description

The name of this particular squid is very different, as is the overall appearance of it. The black color is distinct enough in itself. The fact that the long arms flow like a black cape remind many people of a vampire wearing one. The arms have suckers that are hard to see unless you look up close at one.

This is a small squid, approximately one foot in length. The eyes are very often seen as red. They can also appear to be blue though depending on how much light is available when you see one.

Distribution

The tend to be living in the tropical waters that are warmer for them to move around in. They also live in the depths of the water where their dark color helps to serve as camouflage for them to avoid predators. Generally they will live in water that is no more than 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Vampire squid – Vampyroteuthis infernalis / Author of the illustration: Carl Chun

Behavior

One of the most unique behaviors of the Vampire Squid is that they seem to be flying through the water. Such movements are the result of how they flap their fins to move around. They have the ability to slow down their metabolism to a very low rate. This is how they are able to live in the very cold waters.

It doesn’t have ink to shoot out when it feels it is being threatened. Instead this type of squid offers a type of mucus that shoots out. The mucus is sticky and it can continue to come out for up to ten minutes. It allows the squid to hide from predators as they aren’t very fast swimmers.

Diet /Feeding

The jaws of the Vampire Squid are extremely powerful. However, researchers aren’t fully sure of what all this type of squid consumes. Some theories include a variety of small invertebrates. They don’t need to eat very much though due to their low metabolism. It is believed that it only has to feed a few times per week. This is key to their survival too since it can be difficult at times to find enough food.

Reproduction

It is believed that the Vampire Squid reproduce by the males depositing sperm into the sac of the female. She will deposit fewer eggs than other species and they are also larger in size. The females may store the sperm though for several weeks before they allow it to fertilize the eggs. She will stay in the general area of these deposited eggs until they are ready to hatch. This can take about 13 months.

The females will die soon after their offspring are born. They don’t need to feed for the first few weeks of life. Instead they have an internal type of yolk that they are able to get nutritional value from.

Vampire squid Oral View / Author of the illustration: Ewald Rübsamen

Conservation

Many people are interested in protecting the Vampire Squid due to the unique design of it. They also know too many people have a false conception of it due to the look of it. Those that know better try to educate others so that the false information is less likely to continue spreading.

Human interaction

The Vampire Squid was first identified in 1903. However, it was misclassified as an octopus at that time. Contrary to popular myths this type of squid doesn’t pose any threat at all to humans. Those stories likely developed based on the appearance of this species.

Due to the fact that they live more than 3,000 feet below the surface of cold water areas, not much is known about human interactions with them. Most of the time it is either calculated research or a fishermen accidentally captures one.