Pegasus Plongée director dies testing helmet - Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland

[DandyDon]

Le scaphandrier décédé était dans le lac pour tester un casque

This google translation leaves much to be desired...

The deceased diver was in the lake to test a helmet

The diver who died last Friday at Boudry beach was an instructor perceived by his colleagues as a "good guy".

Worn like a watch on his suit, his dive computer was not found in Lake Neuchâtel. If the diving accident is proven, the death of a 55-year-old Neuchâtel diver last Friday at Boudry beach remains unexplained.

Director of the “Pegasus Plongée” school in Cortaillod, vice-president of the underwater image festival “Festisub” in Neuchâtel where he was in charge of programming and reception, the Neuchâtel diver who tested a helmet Last Friday about forty meters from the shore was an experienced instructor: "true", "frank", "helpful", "available" and "generous" are all qualifiers used by the committee of "Festisub", which also salutes its kindness, altruism, humor, delicacy ...


In a nutshell, "he was a good guy, very committed, of a great level", according to the diver from Neuville, Mauro Zürcher, founder of the "MZ Plongée" school. “He was unanimous for him. A good guy, very simple, very, very good living. Diving with him was a pleasure every time. His death shocked all those who frequented him, ”adds Michel Junod, coming out of water at 7 degrees (?) Tuesday morning, at Boudry beach.

Four days earlier, Pascal Z. was not wearing a foot-heavy leather (?) suit, as in Tintin's album "Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge". In his dry suit, this instructor was testing a helmet that allowed him to communicate with the surface without a mouthpiece in his mouth. This helmet fixed on a collar was for the use of the professionals engaged for example on underwater sites.

"In a helmet, you can breathe and speak", explains Mauro Zürcher, for whom "it is in theory the safest system", since it allows you to breathe even in a state of unconsciousness, whereas with a mask diving, the regulator supplied by the oxygen cylinders can easily come out of the mouth after unconsciousness.

For a time responsible for the Swiss diving association “CMAS swiss diving”, Pascal Z. was known in the Swiss diving world. He died at Boudry beach, in a very beautiful spot which is also suitable for beginners, with its plateau located between a canyon and a cliff. A spot where divers have fun among wrecks, but also a shark at -43 meters, a mirror at -55 meters and even a goddess at -79 meters, among other figurines placed at the bottom of the water. He had played a trumpet and a dolphin, only to be near a shark, at -41 meters.

If someone finds him on the shore or elsewhere adrift, the computer on his arm will tell how deep Pascal Z. dived among real crayfish. "Beyond -40 meters, diving is considered a risky activity, a definition which interests insurance companies: their services depend on the recklessness of the diver", specifies an instructor.


Did Michel Junod enter the water with anxiety after the death of his friend? “Real diving accidents are rare,” he says at a beach that attracts up to 150 divers per weekend in summer. "I am very touched. I loved him very much ", he slips about Pascal Z. Diving is a way for him to pay tribute to him:" He liked it so much, he would like us to continue ", concludes this instructor.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Sounds like he was testing a full face mask with comms.