 | By Doug Crowell - Blockhouse Investigations - Nova Scotia Most people with an interest in the Oak Island mystery are familiar with Dan Blankenship's narrow escape from being entombed, or worse, more than 90 feet below the surface when the 27" casing of Borehole 10X collapsed. Dan had been cutting through various spots in the metal casing of the borehole to investigate suspected voids in the surrounding soil, when the casing began to collapse and pinch off. Dan's quick grasp of the developing situation and his son David's fast reaction time in hoisting Dan up and out of the borehole almost certainly saved Dan's life. Remember, this was before the borehole was increased in diameter to 8 feet. It was still only 27 inch drill casing at this point in time. |
As you can see in the picture above, the seat on which Dan would have been sitting was not much smaller than the pipe into which it must fit. This is the same 27 inch casing that the five divers (including Dan Blankenship) known to have entered the 10X cavity prior to 1973 used to access that cavity at 235 feet below the surface.
After the diving program ended, the searchers turned to investigating the suspected voids, encountered while drilling, in the glacial till above bedrock.
After the diving program ended, the searchers turned to investigating the suspected voids, encountered while drilling, in the glacial till above bedrock.
Excerpt from page 2 of Progress Report to Triton Alliance on November 1st of 1976
Their plan was to cut observation holes in the drill casing in order to find the void that they suspected was a tunnel. As you can see in the excerpt from Dan Blankenship's report of November 1st 1976, this was done at several locations. They then fashioned a pressure washer of sorts, to wash away soil and bore into the surrounding areas. It was during this time that the close call on Dan's life occurred on October 27th. Dan relates the events of the incident on page three of his report, as follows:
Page 3 of Progress Report to Triton Alliance on November 1st of 1976
Later the collapsed casing was removed and this is a picture of that removed section:
There is little doubt that Dan Blankenship had a narrow escape from becoming the seventh person to die while treasure hunting on Oak Island. The fact that he carried on after this event is a testament to his dedication to solving the Oak Island Mystery.
Thanks for reading and goodnight from The Blockhouse!
P.S. Many thanks to Les MacPhie and John Wonnacott for their research materials used in writing this article.