In particular, the club had made its divers descend much too deep. In the Var, since January 1, four people have died during a dive, that’s as many as in all of 2023. The prefecture is warning, on the eve of the summer season.
Sunday June 2, during a dive, a 71-year-old man died off the coast of Cap du Dramont, west of Saint-Raphaël (Var). Originally from Haute-Loire, Roger Decouflet came to dive with the Esprit diving club in Brivadois, of which he was the deputy treasurer.
Following this death which occurred during a dive to a depth of 78 meters, the Var prefecture published an “emergency closure order” of the structure organizing the outing, pointing out three safety breaches:
- “the divers descended to depths of 64 meters in the morning and 78.2 meters in the afternoon (dive during which the accident took place), while air diving in France is prohibited beyond the 60 meters” ;
- “medical normobaric oxygen therapy [dispositif qui permet d’inhaler de l’oxygène en cas de manque, NDLR] present on board has expired since February 4, 2019” ;
- “no dive director organized the activity or wrote a safety sheet“.
The Var prefecture made this decision because the events took place in the Var. “The services will contact the club so that it can comply.“, she explains to France 3 Côte d’Azur.
In the opposite case, the leaders of the Altigerian club face a sentence of one year’s imprisonment and a fine of €15,000.
Since the start of the year, four divers have died in the Var. This is as much as in all of 2023. So state services are doing prevention as the summer season approaches.
The different safety rules to follow before, during and after each dive.
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© Ministry of Sports
Before practicing diving, it is recommended to carry out a medical examination and learn to dive with qualified instructors.
During diving, never be alone, monitor your air autonomy and respect decompression procedures, report yourself on the surface and always have a person on the boat with alert means.
After diving, rehydrate and rest.
