Two divers have died following an emergency ascent during a deep dive at one of Germany’s best-known inland technical diving sites, with police investigating what caused the incident.
The accident occurred on Sunday, 2 August, at the Tennisplätze dive site near Überlingen on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
According to Polizeipräsidium Ravensburg, a 46-year-old woman and her 64-year-old dive partner began an emergency ascent from a depth of approximately 80 metres at around 10:30 a.m. for reasons that remain unknown.
Police said the male diver lost consciousness during the ascent, while his companion became unconscious shortly after surfacing. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by emergency responders, both divers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have confirmed that the exact circumstances surrounding the emergency ascent remain under investigation. The Überlingen Water Police have seized the divers’ equipment for examination as investigators work to determine what led to the fatal incident.
Popular but Challenging Dive Site
The Tennisplätze dive site is one of Lake Constance’s most popular shore dives and caters to a wide range of experience levels. While beginners frequently use the gently sloping shallows close to shore, the site also provides access to significantly deeper water.
Beyond approximately 30 metres, the lakebed drops into a steep wall, with depths exceeding 120 metres. An 80-metre dive falls well within the realm of advanced technical diving, requiring specialised equipment, breathing gases, extensive decompression planning and advanced training.
Lake Constance, which borders Germany, Switzerland and Austria, is one of Central Europe’s largest freshwater lakes and has long been a popular destination for technical divers because of its exceptional depth and underwater topography.
Investigation Continues
At this stage, investigators have not indicated whether equipment malfunction, a medical emergency or another factor contributed to the emergency ascent. Officials have also not released the identities of the divers.
As with all fatal diving incidents, investigators are expected to analyse the divers’ equipment and reconstruct the dive profile before determining the cause of the accident.
No further information has been released.
New Information Emerges About Fatal Bodensee Dive (7th August 2026)
Further reporting has provided additional details about the two divers who died following an emergency ascent from approximately 80 metres in Lake Constance (Bodensee).
The divers, a 46-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man from the greater Karlsruhe area, were reportedly experienced technical divers and were equipped for deep diving, including electronically controlled closed-circuit rebreathers (CCR) and Trimix.
An expert quoted in German media has stressed that the depth of the dive alone does not explain the accident. At approximately 80 metres, the divers would have been operating in an environment requiring detailed decompression planning, specialized breathing gases and redundant equipment, including bailout gas that can be used if a rebreather has to be abandoned.
The reason the pair made an emergency ascent remains unclear. Possible explanations include a medical emergency, a problem with breathing gas or equipment, a rebreather malfunction, or one diver assisting the other. At this stage, however, there is no evidence establishing any of these possibilities as the cause.
Investigators are examining the divers’ equipment and other available evidence, including their rebreathers, dive computers and cylinders, in an effort to determine what happened during the dive.
The distinction is important: while an uncontrolled or rapid ascent from this depth can carry severe decompression and gas-related risks, the ascent itself does not explain why the divers were forced to abandon their planned deep-diving and decompression profile in the first place.
The investigation therefore remains ongoing, and the precise circumstances that led to the fatal emergency have yet to be established.
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