British diver missing in cave in south-west France

A 43-year-old British cave diver remains missing in south-west France after failing to return from a dive at the Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur in the Lot on Friday (September 18).

The diver, who has not been identified publicly, entered the submerged cave system 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 when he had failed to return.

A major rescue operation involving specialist cave divers, firefighters and gendarmes was launched. Searches continued through Saturday night and into Sunday.

Eight hours of air

One of the main hopes 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.

The search has since focused on deeper sections of the submerged cave system, where difficult conditions make access hazardous even for specialist rescuers.

Lot public prosecutor Clara Ribeiro described the missing diver as very experienced.

He entered the cave with enough oxygen for about eight hours, she said.

However, this would have been exhausted by Saturday.

Formal investigation opened

The disappearance has been classified by prosecutors as a disparition inquiétante, or concerning disappearance, and a formal investigation has been opened.

The classification does not indicate that authorities have established what happened to the diver.

His location and the reason he failed to return remain unknown. Authorities have not confirmed equipment failure, loss of breathing gas, entanglement, navigation difficulties or a medical incident.

The Gouffre de Saint-Sauveur is a resurgence of the Ouysse river and is a recognised cave-diving site.

The search is continuing as specialist rescue teams attempt to reach further into the cave system.