A ninth diver has died in the challenging Font-Estramar flooded cave system, situated in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of southern France.
When the 45-year-old man failed to re-emerge as planned on the afternoon of 11 January, his relatives raised the alarm and a search operation was launched.
Font-Estramar, also referred to as Salses Spring, is a natural resurgence and underwater karst system located near the town of Salses-le-Château.
The completely flooded site is regarded as as one of Europe’s most hazardous cave systems, almost 3km long and with a vertical drop exceeding 300m. It was dived to 312m in 2024 by Xavier Méniscus, setting a world cave-diving depth record.
The entrance is on private land and, because of the dangers, the system requires landowner permission to access, although it is not physically sealed. Whether the diver had obtained such permission has not been confirmed.
Cave rescue teams
Specialist teams from the local fire and rescue service, including cave-trained divers, were deployed to conduct the search operations and were later assisted by divers from French Cave Rescue (SSF).
They were said to have undertaken multiple dives into submerged passages, making efforts to check known air-pockets deep inside the system. Extremely challenging conditions, including strong currents, were reported.
The search was formally suspended on 13 January because of risks to safety, and the case was handed over to local police. Two days later the diver’s body was located in a gallery at an approximate depth of 125m, although its recovery was reported to depend on prevailing conditions.
The public prosecutor’s office has confirmed the discovery but has yet to issue an official statement on the cause of death, and a police investigation is underway. At least eight previous diver deaths have occurred in the Font-Estramar system, most of these within the past two decades.
