A scuba diver has been reported missing in a sea cave-site known as the Devil’s Well, 25km south-east of Athens in Greece.
The 34-year-old local man has not been seen since around noon on Sunday, 22 March, when his dive-buddy surfaced alone and raised the alarm.
A challenging search involving a Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) patrol boat, police divers and specialist cave-divers from private teams has been continuing since the rebreather diver disappeared, and the operation was set to resume today (24 March).
The Devil’s Well is part of a small cove in the Saronic Gulf at Vouliagmeni, and the entrance to the vertical shaft lies within metres of the rocky shore at a depth of about 11m.
The shaft descends to around 28m deep, where it extends into a cave system with narrow side-passages, poor visibility and strong, changeable currents. Cave-divers have extended mapping about 150m into the system, encountering difficult conditions as they have tried to establish a connection to nearby Lake Vouliagmeni.
The man is reported to be an experienced diver. Rescuers have said that he had been using a DPV and had gas supplies for up to five hours.
Three US divers disappeared at the Devil’s Well site in 1978 and their remains were not found until 2007. Bars were installed at the tunnel entrance in the 1980s, with a warning sign reading: “Beyond this point, there is nothing worth seeing that is more valuable than your life.”
Malaysia search
Meanwhile search operations are continuing for a 66-year-old male diver who went missing near Pulau Tenggol off the coast of Terengganu in Malaysia on 20 March.
Tam Peng Hoong was reported to have been diving with one of his children but had failed to resurface at around 4.30pm .
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency stated that its operation to locate the diver involved MMEA and police patrol boats and up to 30 volunteer divers from three Tenggol dive-resorts, though sea conditions had been challenging enough to cause postponements.
The search was due to resume today (24 March) as conditions were reported to have moderated.
