18 divers from the Fegersheim diving club took part in an outing in the Fassel gravel pit this Saturday. A pair of two divers got into the water around 2:45 p.m. Quite quickly, one of them found itself in difficulty without knowing the reasons. If her partner managed to get out of the water, Nadine Dietrich, a 47-year-old resident of Fegersheim, was unable to climb back up, despite the intervention of other divers on the spot.
When Finkwiller's diving firefighters intervened, they found that his equipment was caught in algae, without knowing whether this was a cause or a consequence of his drowning. Recovered at a depth of 27 m, the woman was declared dead by a doctor from the SAMU despite several attempts at resuscitation. Having ingested water, her partner was transported by firefighters to Hautepierre, conscious. His days are not in danger.
Divers from the gendarmerie are currently carrying out investigations to determine the causes of death. In total, 17 firefighters, from the barracks of Benfeld, Erstein and Finkwiller (Strasbourg) were mobilized. The mayor of Erstein Michel Andreu-Sanchez was on site, as well as the river, national and municipal police. The Dragon 67 civil security helicopter was deployed.
A medico-psychological emergency unit has been set up at the town hall of Erstein. The 16 other divers present during the tragedy were welcomed there by two doctors from the SAMU.
