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Un club de plongée fermé "en urgence" après un accident mortel au large de Saint-Raphaël
Le préfet du Var a pris un arrêté de fermeture " en urgence" – c’est-à-dire sans mise en demeure préalable – à l’encontre d’un club de plongée dont l’un des membres est décédé lors d’une sortie en mer le dimanche 2 juin au large du cap Dramont à Saint-Raphaël. Richard Decouflet, 71 ans, était orig

A diving club closed “emergency” after a fatal accident off the coast of Saint-Raphaël
After the death of a man in his seventies, a diving club is accused of a series of breaches of safety rules. The authorities announced a strengthening of controls this summer.
The accident occurred this Sunday, June 2 off Cape Dramont in Saint-Raphaël.
The prefect of Var issued an “ emergency ” closure order – that is to say without prior notice – against a diving club where one of the members died during a sea trip on Sunday June 2 off Cape Dramont in Saint-Raphaël .
Richard Decouflet, 71, was from the village of Espalem in Haute-Loire. Municipal councilor in this small town, he was also deputy treasurer of the Esprit Plongée Brivadois association which organized this trip to the east of Var.
The findings carried out by the nautical brigade of the Issambres gendarmerie (Roquebrune-sur-Argens) highlighted “ numerous dysfunctions ” which motivated the decision to close the club.
Expired emergency equipment
“ It appears from the administrative investigation that the establishment (...) does not respect the regulatory security conditions ,” summarizes the prefect’s order dated June 6. The diving club is closed “ until compliance is achieved ”.
“ No diving director organized the activity, nor wrote a safety sheet ,” it is noted. The equipment needed for first aid (oxygen therapy) had also expired for more than five years.
Finally, " the divers descended to depths of 64 meters in the morning and 78.2 meters in the afternoon (dive during which the accident took place) ", i.e. well beyond a legal threshold set at 60 meters ( (this is a so-called "air" dive) for safety reasons.
Following this accident, the Mediterranean maritime prefecture announced a strengthening of control operations with diving associations and clubs.