He wanted to help his wife and has since disappeared. A diving drama may have taken place at the Traunsee near Traunkirchen. A large contingent of water rescuers and fire brigade divers are currently searching for a missing 44-year-old amateur diver. The worst must be feared.
This much is known so far: the 44-year-old from Steinhaus near Wels went into the water with his wife at the diving location “Madonna”, between the two Sonnstein tunnels. Other divers and an instructor were waiting outside.
Woman slightly injured
The woman is said to have had a panic attack at around 11:00 at a depth of just five metres. As far as is known, the 44-year-old is said to have tried to hold her back and calm her down underwater. But this did not work and the diver broke free. At the surface, she complained of a slight ear injury, probably because she came up too quickly.
120 meter deep steep wall
But when the other divers looked around, the 44-year-old had not surfaced. The diving instructor reportedly dived twice to take a look around. But he could not find the missing person.
It is unclear why the alarm did not go off until around 12:00. The diving colleagues may have thought her boyfriend was continuing the dive alone, but this is not in line with her training and sounds unrealistic given that the woman was making an emergency ascent.
Boats, rescuers and divers from seven fire brigades and four water rescue stations are in action. At the dive site there is a statue of the Madonna on land, from which it also gets its name, and then a plateau at a depth of 20 metres before the steep wall drops to 120 metres. The operational depth of the rescue divers is 40 metres. As soon as there are new developments, we will report this on krone.at.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
