Unknown Deep divers missing - Serpentara island, Italy

[DandyDon]

8:59 pm update...

Villasimius, two divers missing off the island of Serpentara: searches underway - L'Unione Sarda English

Near the San Marco wreck. The Captain's office and fire brigade divers are on site, a helicopter is flying to search the area

www.unionesarda.it

They dived in the early afternoon, in the sea off Villasimius in the area where the San Marco wreck is located, and never returned. These are moments of great apprehension for two expert divers, one from Villasimius and one from Cagliari: after the alarm, raised by those who were on the "support" boat worried about the delay in the ascent of the two divers, the searches began immediately . A patrol boat from the Captain's Office and dinghies from the fire brigade arrived on site in the area of the island of Serpentara.
The two divers, according to an initial reconstruction, were engaged in a dive at around 100 meters deep with a diving center in Villasimius. It is yet to be understood whether they were there because they were in charge of work on behalf of others. The beaten area was the one where the San Marco wreck is located, a steamship sunk in 1941 by torpedoes launched by a British submarine.
A fire brigade helicopter also took off and is searching the entire stretch of sea from above.

10:02 pm update...

Divers missing in Villasimius: they had dived to reach the wreck of the "San Marco" - L'Unione Sarda English

The search was suspended as night fell. We will start again at dawn with a new mobilization

www.unionesarda.it

The search for the two missing divers in the Villasimius stretch of sea between Isola dei Cavoli and Serpentara was suspended around 9pm on Sunday. They will resume at dawn on Monday, with a new mobilization and particularly sophisticated means.

In action, coordinated by the Harbor Master, the Coast Guard, the Fire Brigade and volunteers from the Sinnai Sub Club.


The alarm was raised in the early afternoon of Sunday, with searches also involving the rocks and beaches in the area. However, there is no trace of the two missing several.

The two, Stefano Bianchelli – 56 years old, resident in Villasimius – and Mario Perniciano – 55 years old, from Cagliari - dived around 11am to reach the wreck of the San Marco for routine inspections.

It is a 1919 steamship that sank with its load of coal on 1 June 1941 during the Second World War. He was hit by an English submarine. None of her crew were saved.

 

[lermontov]

id like to know what the time line is for this -what depth and time did support divers go to meet them coming back ?

 

[DandyDon]

Google picked up several different articles about the incident and the big search. The men are locally known as experienced, expert divers, and members of a local diving club. "Their objective was to reach the wreck of the San Marco ship, which sank during the Second World War and which lies at a depth of 107 meters to place a signal buoy." Searching continued by dingies checking the coast, ships, helicopter, and a Naval robot. Nothing has been released about support divers working the original dive or what kind of equipment was being used. We can hope that nearby divers will offer information here.

 

[reddeaddiver]

Recuperato il corpo di uno dei sub morti a Villasimius, sospese le operazioni per l’altro - L'Unione Sarda.it

Stefano Bianchelli e Mario Perniciano individuati assieme grazie al Rov: erano a 106 metri di profondità, vicino al relitto della San Marco

www.unionesarda.it

 

[Johnoly]

Recuperato il corpo di uno dei sub morti a Villasimius, sospese le operazioni per l’altro - L'Unione Sarda.it

Stefano Bianchelli e Mario Perniciano individuati assieme grazie al Rov: erano a 106 metri di profondità, vicino al relitto della San Marco

www.unionesarda.it

Google translate back to english from the link provided

The recovery operations: the body of Perniciano (right), waiting for that of Bianchelli reported on the surface
The lifeless bodies of Stefano Bianchelli and Mario Perniciano were found, the divers that disappeared on Sunday in the sea of Villasimius, between Serpentara and the Isola dei Cavoli, in the area of the wreck of San Marco, a ship that sank during the Second World War.

The two were together, 106 meters deep and about twenty meters from the wreck, and were identified thanks to the remotely controlled Rov robot, equipped with cameras, of the fire brigade.

Province of Cagliari Hotels

Farewell to Stefano Bianchelli, the diver in love with his sea: «From always me»​

The operations are coordinated by the Port Authority. On the spot also the “Gaeta” minesmine of the Navy.

The first body brought back to the surface is that of Perniciano: the intervention was carried out with the Rov (Remote Operative Vehicle), underwater drone controlled by cable from the surface and equipped with cameras and pliers. The transfers on board the Gaeta were placed.

In progress the operations for the recovery of that of Bianchelli, but the sea conditions have become more difficult: it is not excluded that the intervention can be postponed.

The bodies will then be transferred to the port of Villasimius and then to the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Policlinico di Monserrato where the autopsy will be carried out entrusted by the magistrate to the medical examiner Roberto Demontis who will also carry out an inspection in the place of the tragedy. Professor Demontis is also a disavvy. In the past he was president of the Sub-Shinei Club. The most credible hypothesis is that the two divers died of an illness.

Mariangela Lampis


Antonio Serreli

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

One was ill, the other tried to save him: the hypothesis regarding the death of the two divers in Villasimius - L'Unione Sarda English

The commander of the Cagliari Coast Guard, Giovanni Stella, reconstructs the possible dynamics of the tragedy and the rescue efforts. Recovery operations for Bianchelli's body have been suspended

www.unionesarda.it

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Nothing but gross speculation in the "one fell ill, the other tried to help" conclusion.

If I'm reading this correctly and if the underlying facts are correct, they were at over 100 m deep. So clearly tech diving in one way or another. They died before doing much if any work on the project. Given they both died, my personal speculation is that they both got a gas that was inappropriate for their depth. Maybe tanks had been mislabelled and they didn't check? But who knows.

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

Nothing but gross speculation in the "one fell ill, the other tried to help" conclusion.

If I'm reading this correctly and if the underlying facts are correct, they were at over 100 m deep. So clearly tech diving in one way or another. They died before doing much if any work on the project. Given they both died, my personal speculation is that they both got a gas that was inappropriate for their depth. Maybe tanks had been mislabelled and they didn't check? But who knows.

Speculation is all that it will be at this stage, however your theory of a gas issue I would definitely have as a suspect, I also agree that the fact the dive objective wasn’t started is an indicator of something going wrong after only a few minutes in to the dive, (probably less than 5min)
Such a sad loss for the guys families and friends.

 

[John the Pom]

I realise that 100 metres seems to be the new 60 metres these days, but to dive to 100+ metres and perform a complex task involving extra effort and handling equipment (attaching some kind of buoy to a wreck) isn't something that should be undertaken without some serious training and support. Did these two divers have that? I don't know. But if they didn't, then it would be no surprise that it ended badly.

 

[LFMarm]

Both CCR divers and very likely on CC at the time of the accident given the depth.