The body of a cave diver has been recovered more than 24 hours after he drowned.
South Australia Police were alerted about 10.30am on Sunday that a 65-year-old man from Victoria had drowned while diving at Tank Cave, near Tantanoola.
Officers from the Water Operations Unit worked with specialist divers from the Cave Divers Association of Australia to retrieve his body about 3.30pm on Monday.
Among those in the rescue team was renowned cave diver Dr Richard Harris OAM, who famously helped rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flood cave in Thailand in 2018.
The 65‑year‑old was one of three high-skilled divers swimming in a group through the cave system when there was an underwater rock fall.
SA Police had earlier said officers were hopeful the diver’s body would be recovered on Monday but it wasn’t guaranteed.
‘Another dive is either underway as we speak, or scheduled to take place this afternoon,’ Superintendent Trent Cox told a press conference earlier Monday.
‘Fatigue for divers will quickly become an issue for them, so while we hope that we retrieve his body today, it’s not guaranteed.’
The body of a 65-year-old diver has been recovered from Tank Cave
The 65-year-old was one of three high-skilled divers swimming in the cave at the time of his death
Tank Cave is around 25km from Mount Gambier and is one of 32 diving locations on the Limestone Coast.
Superintendent Cox said police were called to the scene for a drowning but the circumstances of the man’s death will be subject to further investigation.
‘The coronial process is all about determining the cause of death, what led to it, but in terms of whether there was a rock fall or anything like that, it’s too early to tell I’m afraid,’ he said.
‘The cave system … is extremely complex. It’s a labyrinth of tunnels – big, small, of varying degrees of accessibility.
‘It’s a complex scene [and we’re] very mindful of the trauma that family is experiencing.’
The 65-year-old’s body was found in a part of the cave system known as P7.
The other two divers who swam with the Victorian man were ‘understandably traumatised’.
‘They were well known to one another,’ Superintendent Cox said.
More to come…
