Italian freediver dies while surveying spearfishing championship site

Italian freediver Francesco Pagni has died while surveying the seabed off Alghero, Sardinia, ahead of a qualifying event for Italy’s national spearfishing championship.

The 47-year-old was acting as second to competitor Fabio Tonazzini in the Italian Spearfishing Qualification Championship, when he failed to return to the surface after descending to inspect the competition area.

Tonazzini and others involved in the competition entered the water to search for him and found him unresponsive at a depth of around 12 metres.

They returned to the port of Alghero, where paramedics, Coast Guard personnel and Carabinieri were waiting, but attempts to resuscitate Pagni were unsuccessful.

An autopsy subsequently carried out at the Sassari Institute of Forensic Medicine found that Pagni had died from acute asphyxia, although no information as to the cause of his inability to surface has been reported.

The Italian Federation of Sport Fishing and Underwater Activities (FIPSAS) described Pagni as ‘A passionate spearfisherman and expert freediver’, and offered condolences to his family in the wake of the tragedy.

The competition, scheduled to take place on 18 and 19 September, with approximately 60 competitors seeking qualification for next year’s Italian championship, is still expected to go ahead as planned.

Pagni, who came from Sarzana in the province of La Spezia, is survived by his wife and two children.

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