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British diver found dead in cave in south-west France
43-year-old failed to return from a dive at the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur on Friday
A 43-year-old British cave diver has died after failing to return from a dive at the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur in the Lot on Friday (September 18).
His body was found on Sunday (September 20), at a depth of 88 metres, after an extensive search involving specialist cave divers, firefighters and gendarmes.
It has not yet been possible to recover the body because of the configuration of the submerged cave system.
The diver, who has not been publicly identified, entered the cave near Calès at about 15:30 as part of a group of eight experienced British cave divers visiting the area.
His companions raised the alarm at about 20:00 on Friday evening when he had failed to return.
Searches continued through Saturday night and Sunday, with specialist divers investigating deeper sections of the cave.
Eight hours of air
One early hope was that the diver had reached an air chamber about 80 metres below the surface and taken refuge there.
Rescue divers reached the chamber on Saturday and searched it, but found no sign of him.
Lot public prosecutor Clara Ribeiro had described the missing diver as very experienced. He had entered the cave with enough oxygen for about eight hours.
His body was eventually located at a depth of 88 metres, according to the prosecutor.
Investigation into death
An investigation into the causes of the death has now been opened. Authorities have not said what caused the diver's death.
The body remains in the cave, with a further attempt to recover it expected shortly, the prosecutor said.
The Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur is a resurgence of the Ouysse river and is a recognised cave-diving site.
Gendarmes from the Marseillan nautical brigade and divers from the French Speleology Federation took part in the search.
