Swiss diver missing in France after attempting solo dive below 80 meters (262 feet)

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broadreach

Contributor
Messages
224
Reaction score
38
Location
San Joaquin Valley, California
# of dives
200 - 499
According to news sources listed below (all in French) a 35 year old Swiss diver, experienced in deep diving, has gone missing around 4:40 PM today after attempting a solo dive to a depth greater than 80 meters (262 feet) at Meillerie on the French shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman in French). According to the reports he had asked a friend to alert the authorities if he does not surface in 2 hours. One report suggest that he had attempted to break some kind of depth record, but no clear explanation is provided. Another report indicates that he had performed this dive last summer successfully.

The news reports also indicate that police (gendarmerie)and firefighter (pompiers) divers as well as a canine unit have been searching the area (including the shore) without luck.


Un plongeur disparu dans le lac Léman à Meillerie (Haute-Savoie) - France 3 Alpes
Lac Léman: un plongeur suisse porté disparu / France Bleu
20 minutes - Disparition d un plongeur dans le Léman - Faits divers
Meillerie | Meillerie : un plongeur disparaît dans le Léman
 
High END kills and the quicker divers accept this fact the fewer fatalities will occur. This most likely will open the deep air discussions and the usual suspects will again explain how great they are at deep air diving, how helium is expensive and not available everywhere and how you can successfully dive deep air. Some novice diver will read these, trust the justifications and try themselves with serious outcomes.

Diving to 80m with the right equipment, training, dive planning and breathing gasses is not a "big dive" these days anymore. It's a pity that this outcome will have little impact on this dangerous pastime.
 
I've done plenty of deep dives on air in the past, but would never exceed 200 fsw. I'm not suggesting deep air dives are safe, but this one certainly exceeded my limits so I'm not surprised. Any information on his gear configuration yet?
 
High END kills and the quicker divers accept this fact the fewer fatalities will occur. This most likely will open the deep air discussions and the usual suspects will again explain how great they are at deep air diving, how helium is expensive and not available everywhere and how you can successfully dive deep air. Some novice diver will read these, trust the justifications and try themselves with serious outcomes.

Diving to 80m with the right equipment, training, dive planning and breathing gasses is not a "big dive" these days anymore. It's a pity that this outcome will have little impact on this dangerous pastime.

Reckless divers will always be around and will always take risks that are extreme for most of the diving population. For you to assume that a reasoned argument about deep air will lead to the deaths of novice divers is unsubstantiated gibberish and itself irresponsible.

The deep air hyperbole aside, what is at 80m in this lake that is worth planning a dive to see? Is it known that the diver was on air, or only rumored?
 
I am not even going to bother!!

Helium isn't available everywhere you might want to dive, and deep air can be executed safely. I understand how my limitations change with narcosis. If I'm diving deep air frequently, the depth that my skills degrade gradually increases with the number of dives (adaptation). If it's been a few months, that adaptation no longer exists and the degradation begins shallower again.


With experience I've learned how badly my skills degrade. In 15 msw, I don't need to write down compass headings, task sequences, and can do math in my head. In 60 msw, I know I'll need to write down compass headings, task sequences with instructions, and won't be able to do simple subtraction on my slate. I may need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs (strobes) back to the up line. No way I'd be able to do ratio deco, but I could understand the numbers on my dive computer if I need to bail off my cut tables and BT.


To use your drinking analogy- It's not unsafe to go get hammered every night, it's unsafe to fail to have a designated driver or to call a cab to take you home. One shouldn't confuse a failure to be properly prepared for the expected difficulties with an inability to safely execute the dive. But deep air isn't for everybody. If you have helium, trimix is a far better option.
 
... a solo dive to a depth greater than 80 meters (262 feet)

...on air.

your_problem.JPG
 
262' is ~1 ATM outside my comfort level on air, but not because of the narcosis impairment. If it's confirmed the bottom gas was air, I think it much more likely the guy took a CNS hit at a pO2 of almost 1.9 than that he did something stupid due to narcosis that caused his death whereas a "more sober" diver on 21/XX would have survived.
 
262' is ~1 ATM outside my comfort level on air, but not because of the narcosis impairment. If it's confirmed the bottom gas was air, I think it much more likely the guy took a CNS hit at a pO2 of almost 1.9 than that he did something stupid due to narcosis that caused his death whereas a "more sober" diver on 21/XX would have survived.

That would assume he got that far down.
 

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