by Alessandra Ressa
French cave diver Patrice Cabanel, 32, died on August 29 while exploring the underground cave of Saint-Georges, in the municipality of Montvalent, France.
According to the local media, Cabanel died while trapped underwater at a distance of abouth 200 meters from the entrance of the cave. It was not possible for the rescue team to intervene. The cave diver was simply too far from the access to the long and narrow submerged cavity. The circumstances of the tragic accident are currently under investigation. A malfunctioning scuba tank is among the lines of inquiry pursued.
Despite his young age, Cabanel was an experienced cave diver. He had established important depth records and contributed to the mapping of several underwater caves worldwide. Cave diving, however, is considered to be the most dangerous activity in the world and it takes its heavy toll yearly. He had left Trieste less than two weeks earlier, on August 18, after leading the French-Italian mission Timavo System Exploration 2024 in the Trebiciano abyss, with the support of Trieste’s Società Adriatica di Speleologia It was his second exploration mission in Trieste. During the 2022 TSE edition he successfully reached a new underwater cave along the subterranean river, the Maucci cavern, named after the scuba diver who attempted first to map the mysterious river in the 1950s.
Cabanel was a brave explorer whose ultimate ambition was to determine the entire underground route of the Timavo river. The news of his tragic death came as a shock for the whole caving community of Trieste. The members of the Società Adriatica di Speleologia are grieving for the loss of the friend and caving partner.
