A 57-year-old Dutch diver has died following an emergency ascent from around 80 metres at Austria’s Attersee, after encountering an unexplained problem during a planned deep dive.

The incident happened at approximately 12:25pm on Friday, 18 September, at the Ofen dive entry in Steinbach am Attersee, in the Vöcklabruck district of Upper Austria.

According to the Upper Austria Police, the 57-year-old was diving with two companions. Police described all three as experienced divers and said the group intended to make a dive to a depth of 100 metres.

Problems Developed at Around 80 Metres

At approximately 80 metres, the Dutch diver suddenly encountered problems of an unknown nature.

A 42-year-old member of the group attempted to assist him, but police said the diver panicked and made an emergency ascent, reaching the surface in a very short period of time.

The precise nature of the initial problem that triggered the emergency remains unknown.

After reaching the surface approximately 100 metres from shore, the diver was spotted by two Polish divers, who went to his assistance and helped bring him towards shore.

Emergency services were already in the area dealing with a separate diving incident, allowing resuscitation efforts to begin quickly.

Despite those efforts, the 57-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said there were no indications of third-party involvement.

Dive Computer Could Not Be Read at Scene

Questions remain over what happened during the dive.

Local reporting from the Attersee cites the Upper Austrian Water Rescue service as saying that the diver’s computer was damaged and could not be read at the scene.

Any information eventually recovered from the device could potentially help investigators reconstruct the dive, although authorities have not announced whether its data can be retrieved.

The diver’s two companions surfaced more slowly and were not reported injured.

Separate Diving Emergency Underway

The fatal incident occurred while emergency services were already responding to another diving emergency at the lake.

ORF Upper Austria reports that a female diver from another group had experienced shortness of breath after surfacing. Water rescue personnel brought her ashore before she was taken to Salzkammergut Klinikum Vöcklabruck for further examination.

Initial reports described her injuries as minor.

A third possible emergency was briefly investigated after a buoy was noticed in the water, but authorities subsequently established that it belonged to another water user who surfaced safely.

Deep Diving at the Attersee

Attersee is one of Austria’s established freshwater diving destinations, with clear water and steep underwater terrain attracting divers to a number of sites around the lake.

Following Friday’s fatality, the Upper Austrian Water Rescue service told ORF that problems at significant depth can rapidly escalate, particularly at steep-wall sites where divers have fewer opportunities to stabilise themselves while dealing with an equipment or other underwater problem.

The Ofen site where Friday’s accident occurred is one of those steep-wall locations.

Authorities have not identified what initially went wrong at 80 metres, and no official cause of death has been announced.

The Scuba News will update this report if further information about the circumstances of the accident becomes available.