Novice dead - Le Lavandou, France

[DandyDon]

MSN

Google's translation...

A diver drowned in Le Lavandou earlier this week. The authorities warn against diving accidents and remind them of the right gestures.

A 46-year-old diver was found drowned on Monday afternoon off Saint-Clair beach, in Le Lavandou. The man, a beginner diver, had left with a more experienced friend, despite the weather conditions not being favorable for going out to sea.

Despite the intervention of a team specializing in aquatic rescues, the man could not be saved.

This is not an isolated case. In February, a man in his fifties was the victim of a diving accident in Fréjus and required the intervention of firefighters.

With the school holidays and the arrival of sunny days, more and more similar cases are to be feared. In the Var, the French Federation for Underwater Studies and Sports (FFESSM) therefore recalls the instructions and actions to adopt to avoid diving accidents.

"We don't dive when we're tired"​

Pierre Trape, president of the departmental committee of the FFESSM du Var, alert on the physical conditions necessary to practice diving, in particular at sea.
"You don't dive when you're tired," he recalls. "You don't dive when you haven't slept. You don't dive when you have a suitcase full of personal worries, which is quite common these days."
Tips that don't just apply to novice divers. "When it's a resumption of physical activity, we wait to have resumed our optimum level. If when we climb two steps, we are tired, out of breath, we have palpitations, we do not dive."
The FFESSM du Var and the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean also recommend carrying out a health check, to be sure of being in good physical shape, before diving.

Dive in structure​

Above all, Pierre Trape advises inexperienced divers to go to structures dedicated to diving. "Because you have instructors who are trained, but also because we have all the emergency equipment available, which is checked and verified."
The FFESSM also works in collaboration with CROSS MED, the Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue in the Mediterranean. "This allows optimal and rapid support throughout the department," explains Pierre Trape.
CROSS MED has also recently published its report for the year 2021 , which reports a 25% increase in rescues at sea compared to the previous year.
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[chillyinCanada]

My take is that it is a free diving accident and not a SCUBA accident.

 

[ginti]

I think it is actually SCUBA... I have always used the word "plongée" for SCUBA, and "apnée" for free diving

 

[chillyinCanada]

Thank you for the clarification, ginti.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I think it is actually SCUBA... I have always used the word "plongée" for SCUBA, and "apnée" for free diving

Are you able to find anymore information on the accident from your news?

 

[ginti]

Are you able to find anymore information on the accident from your news?

Theoretically speaking, yes. Practically speaking, I don't have enough time right now. I'll ask @bardass next Wednesday (if he doesn't see this post before).

Maybe, @JMBL could also help, if I remember well he is french too (I am not).

 

[JMBL]

Maybe, @JMBL could also help, if I remember well he is french too (I am not).

Yeah, you're right, I'm French, but I won't comment on the accident :

- I wasn't aware of it until I came on Scubaboard tonight,
- I have no reliable source about it. Newspapers tend to relate those sad events in a very questionable manner.

I'm off for a few days, to dive in le Var, not very far the Lavandou. First dives of the season are often the most problematic, so I'll dive cool.

Safe diving to you all.