The body of the renowned Chinese cave diver, Han Ting, was successfully recovered after being missing for 18 days during a dive in Du’an, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Local authorities made the announcement on Wednesday.
Officials from the Du’an emergency management bureau reported that a smart underwater robot was deployed to retrieve the body, which was brought to the shore at 6:33 pm. Subsequent confirmation established the recovered body to be that of Han. The bureau extended condolences and stated that an ongoing investigation is in progress.
Media reports had previously detailed Han’s activities, noting that the 47-year-old diver was engaged in a training session on October 7 as he prepared for a world record challenge in deep cave diving. In May, Han had accomplished a remarkable dive of 277 meters in the same cave, setting an Asian record and coming within a mere 9 meters of the world record.
Following Han’s failure to resurface the next day, a search and rescue operation was initiated, enlisting professional teams from across China. On October 11, a remotely operated underwater vehicle discovered a body wedged between cave walls at a depth of approximately 110 meters, which was suspected to be Han. However, retrieving the body proved to be exceedingly challenging due to the complex underwater conditions.
Over his 17-year career as a diver, Han had been involved in numerous missions related to shipwreck archaeology for the country and participated in searches for the remains of Red Army soldiers. He also willingly contributed to many missions aimed at locating missing divers. Notably, the China Exploration and Research Society recognized him as China’s first all-around diving coach, proficient in scuba diving, free diving, and technical diving.
