Belgian diver missing in France

[xmass-Eve]

Apparently a Belgian diver is lost in Salses-le-Château, near Perpignan, France. The newspaper says he and his buddy got separated when their safety line broke at 125m depth. His buddy could reach the surface, He didn't. I don't know if it's a cave or a deep lake. There isn't much info in the article. Anyway, let's hope for a miracle


Belgische duiker vermist in Frankrijk

 

[DandyDon]

Wikipedia list 5 previous diver deaths here, including one in 2016 and the latest in 2017.

P.-O. : un plongeur disparu dans la Font Estramar
Google translation....

A Belgian diver has been missing since Thursday night at Font Estramar.
A diver has disappeared since Thursday night at the Font Estramar in the municipality of Salses-le-Château.


Relief has been mobilized since Thursday 9 pm until 3 am. In vain.

This Friday morning, searches resumed on site.

 

[Manwork]

He was very interessante person, according to the newspapers.

https://www.google.it/amp/s/www.lin...lge-habitue-aux-exploits-extremes,4641078.php


Fencing Champion, skydiver Champion, swam across the Mancha Channel, among other things.

RIP

 

[caydiver]

So sad for the loss for family and friends but it does seem like a life well lived. RIP

 

[Nirvana]

There is another article on this accident that gives more details on what happened:
Disparition d'un plongeur

The paragraph concerning the incident itself reads as follows:
"While they undertook a dive to a depth of 125m, one of the two divers came to the surface to alert emergency services and inform that, after a safety cable was ruptured, his buddy was unable to follow him."

It is not clear to me what they mean by "security cable", whether it is a permanent line or a line installed by the dive team. In addition, it does not explain why the line rupture led to one of the divers getting lost inside the cave. I imagine that they had very low visibility at the time.

 

[wgw04024]

Maybe a guide line in a cave?

 

[JMBL]

Font Estramar is a famous cave diving site in south France, not far from the Spanish border, close to the Med. It's a complex diving site, quite a labyrinth in fact. In the 50's a group of diver got lost there, never to be found. The part of the cave where it happened has been sealed ever since.

The so called safety cable is indeed a safety line.

 

[Nirvana]

Font Estramar is a famous cave diving site in south France, not far from the Spanish border, close to the Med. It's a complex diving site, quite a labyrinth in fact. In the 50's a group of diver got lost there, never to be found. The part of the cave where it happened has been sealed ever since.

The so called safety cable is indeed a safety line.

What is a safety line? I have never heard of safety lines in any cave course I’ve taken, nor have I heard of them in reference to anything in the caves I’ve been (all in the American continent). Is it simply the permanent line, as found in Florida, Mexico etc. or some other line?

edit: I've seen it reported on another forum that one of the scooters used by the pair imploded and that they were dragged to 200m and lost the line.

 

[KevinNM]

There was another European diver who died a year ago in the same place when his scooter imploded at 200 meters. Hmm...

Diver dead in Font Estramar, France

 

[JMBL]

What is a safety line? I have never heard of safety lines in any cave course I’ve taken, nor have I heard of them in reference to anything in the caves I’ve been (all in the American continent). Is it simply the permanent line, as found in Florida, Mexico etc. or some other line?

edit: I've seen it reported on another forum that one of the scooters used by the pair imploded and that they were dragged to 200m and lost the line.

Sorry if the translation I gave isn't perfectly accurate (my natural language is French). So permanent line it is. In French we call it a "fil d'Ariane".