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A British diver died after becoming trapped in the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur cave system in Calès, southwestern France, on Friday. His body was discovered underwater at a depth of 288 ft during a search operation, but rescue teams could not immediately retrieve it due to challenging conditions.
Search and rescue operations initially began at approximately 8pm on Friday, with a large-scale effort involving the Gendarmerie’s marine brigade commencing the following day. The Gendarmerie’s investigation into the diver’s death is ongoing, focusing on the circumstances that led to the accident within the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur cave system.
The Gendarmerie has launched an investigation into the cause of death of the 43-year-old diver who became trapped in the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur caves. Due to the “extremely difficult” conditions encountered during the rescue operation, public prosecutor Clara Ribeiro indicated that retrieving the body might take additional time.
What remains unclear — The circumstances surrounding the diver’s entanglement and the exact cause of his death are still under investigation.
British diver dies after becoming trapped in French underwater cave
The experienced diver failed to resurface from the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur caves on Friday (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A British diver has died after becoming trapped inside an underwater cave system in France.
The 43-year-old diver, who has not been publicly named yet, had entered the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur cave system on Friday, but became stuck.
He is said to have become entangled in the guide line in a narrow passage deep underwater.
The alarm was raised after he failed to return to the surface at the mouth of the caves located in Calès in southwestern France.
But the search and rescue teams were unable to locate the man for days, who was described as highly experienced.
He was part of a group of eight British cave divers.
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The diver had descended into the caverns at about 3.30pm.
When he didn’t resurface, his diving companions alerted the emergency services at about 8pm, according to La Dépêche.
Specialist cave rescue teams, along with firefighters, scoured the area until around midnight.
Another large-scale operation was launched on Saturday, with more equipment and teams arriving by helicopter, including the Gendarmerie’s marine brigade from Marseille.
Hopes rose that the man might have reached an air pocket at a depth of 262 ft (80m), but he was not there.
He had set off with an eight-hour oxygen supply plus a second tank, which was later found unused.
When the ‘complex’ search resumed on Sunday, a body was discovered underwater at about 288 ft.
Rescuers were unable to immediately retrieve his body due to ‘extremely difficult’ conditions, public prosecutor Clara Ribeiro said.
Along with narrow passages, the rescue divers’ movements muddied the waters, making visibility poor.
An investigation into his cause of death has been launched by the Gendarmerie.
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