New accident at the Marcilhac-sur-Célé caving site, in the Lot.
A 39-year-old cave diver was killed in the resurgence of Marchepied, an underground tunnel popular with caving enthusiasts, according to information from La Dépêche.
Having left with three other divers from a Belgian club, the man would have suffered a cardiac arrest while diving, and would have tangled in his breadcrumb trail, around half past twelve this Thursday.
His teammates first tried to rescue him, without success, before calling in reinforcement of the Lot firefighters, who finally recovered the body in a narrow passage 20 m from the entrance to the cave.
16 firefighters took part in the rescue.
A unit of the nautical brigade of the gendarmerie of Marseillan, in the Aude, was expected on the spot to investigate the circumstances of the accident and to inspect the diving equipment of the deceased.
Man found dead in July 2020
Marcilhac-sur-Célé is an area well known to amateurs, who also know it for its dangerousness.
This diving accident is the third in the town in a year, and the second fatal.
On May 8, a Polish diver was uneasy at the very beginning of his journey at the emergence of Ressel, the other resurgence of the town.
In July 2020, a 40-year-old man died after being stranded underwater.
In the past 20 years, four such accidents have occurred.
Read also Lot: a cave diver found dead
Described as "Mecca of diving" by the mayor of the town, Marcilhac-sur-Célé welcomes up to 5,000 divers each year, for all levels of difficulty.
