Le Figaro Nice
An investigation lasting more than thirty years has just concluded on the Côte d'Azur. DNA analyzes on two bodies found last November at a depth of more than a hundred meters, off the coast of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), confirmed the identities of two divers missing since 1993.
“It is indeed a diving accident and toxicology is negative for both divers. The investigations are completed
,” indicated the Nice prosecutor’s office, confirming the information from France 3.
This is the end of a mystery which, at the time, caused a lot of talk about the Bay of Angels. Three divers had ventured into the “American Falls”, popular but dangerous depths located between the Cape of Nice and the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Daniel V., 38 years old, and Christian T., 40 years old, had never returned to the surface. Only a young 22-year-old diver had managed to save himself from these abysses.
The three men would have ventured into this rock wall at more than 72 meters. It is there that they would have lost consciousness due to the pressure and the phenomenon of “drunkenness of the depths”, a form of narcosis which paralyzes motor skills. Despite significant resources to try to rescue them on this Saturday morning of December 4, 1993, the two divers had not been located. And even time and the currents had not brought back the bodies.
Comparisons
It was only in October 2023 that two specialist divers saw human silhouettes in this area. A very technical operation to recover the bodies was then carried out by the maritime gendarmerie and above all, the expert center for human diving and underwater intervention (Cephismer), a branch of the French Navy. A robot had been sent more than 100 meters deep.
Doubts persisted about the identities of these two divers, who were still wearing their equipment. In thirty years, other people have lost their lives in the waters of the Riviera. DNA samples from their relatives and comparisons made it possible to confirm that they were indeed Daniel V. and Christian T.