A dive on Friday morning in Lake Millstatt came to a tragic end: a diver disappeared under the eyes of his colleagues. The 60-year-old Villacher was later rescued by the water rescue team from a depth of ten meters.
August 21, 2020, 3:01 p.m.
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Later in the morning the group, consisting of three men, undertook a dive at the so-called Liafelsen between Dellach and Pesenthein on Lake Millstatt. Around 10.45 a.m., during the first ascent phase, the two diving companions noticed that the 60-year-old was having buoyancy problems. This probably unintentionally pulled him too quickly towards the surface.
Divers lost sight of colleagues
A 56-year-old companion noticed the emergence too quickly and wanted to capture the 60-year-old by the fin tips, but he did not succeed. In the course of the ascent, the divers lost each other. The remaining two-man team first looked underwater for the third diving companion before they surfaced again. They couldn't find him there either, whereupon they called the 911.
At around 11.20 a.m., the Carinthian regional alarm and warning center notified the emergency services. Within a short time the Ferndorf and Döbriach water rescue services were on site and were briefed by the detectors. The search for the missing diver began immediately.
Casualty recovered within minutes
Within a few minutes, water rescue divers were able to locate the injured diver 50 meters from the shore at a depth of around ten meters, bring them to the surface and rescue them in the rescue motorboat. Despite the quick response time and all efforts of the rescue service, the dive ended tragically for the man. All efforts to revive him were in vain.
In addition to water rescue, the local fire brigades, the Klagenfurt professional fire brigade, the Red Cross and the police were also on duty. In the course of the rescue operation, the B98 was only passable in one lane. How the diving accident came about is still unclear and is therefore the subject of further investigations. According to the police, no errors could be found in the diving equipment.
SPÖ deeply dismayed at death
The dead is a Villach SPÖ municipal council. The SPÖ, namely Governor Peter Kaiser, the Villach district party chairman, Landtag President Reinhart Rohr, State Managing Director Andreas Sucher and Mayor Günther Albel were deeply dismayed by the tragic accidental death in a broadcast.
“We are losing [...] a friend who has distinguished himself through warmth and philanthropy. Our condolences go out particularly to his wife and two daughters. The Carinthian Social Democrats will miss him very much. "
