A 28-year-old Brazilian military police officer has died during an aquatic training exercise in Lake Paranoá in Brasília, prompting prosecutors to seek information about the planning and safety arrangements surrounding the activity.
Soldier Lucas Duran da Silva, a member of the Federal District Military Police’s Environmental Police Battalion, died on Monday, September 21, while taking part in training near Brasília’s JK Bridge.
According to the Federal District Military Police, Duran and another officer involved in the exercise had completed the Course in Lake Operations and were advanced divers with international certification permitting dives to depths of up to 40 metres.
The police said Duran suffered a sudden medical problem while submerged. His colleague recovered him from the water and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation before personnel from the Federal District Military Fire Department arrived and provided advanced medical assistance.
Despite prolonged attempts to resuscitate him, Duran was pronounced dead at the scene.
Apnea Training Under Investigation
Further reporting in Brazil indicates that Duran had been undertaking an apnea diving exercise, rather than a conventional scuba training dive.
Brazilian outlet Metrópoles reported that Duran was accompanied underwater by another police officer using scuba equipment. The pair reportedly descended together while the scuba diver maintained visual contact with him.
During the exercise, Duran reportedly used his colleague’s auxiliary breathing supply before beginning an ascent towards the surface. The precise sequence of events that followed remains under investigation.
Early reporting raised the possibility that barotrauma may have been involved, but this has not been established as the official cause of death. Authorities have not yet publicly confirmed the medical circumstances responsible for the fatality.
The distinction is significant because apnea diving and scuba diving involve different physiological considerations, particularly where a diver switches between breath-hold diving and breathing compressed gas underwater.
Prosecutors Seek Details Of Safety Procedures
The circumstances surrounding the training are now receiving formal scrutiny.
The Federal District and Territories Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested information and documents from the General Command of the Federal District Military Police concerning Duran’s death.
The Military Justice Prosecutor’s Office said it wants to establish how the activity was planned, executed and supervised, as well as what safety and emergency arrangements were in place.
Prosecutors have specifically requested information concerning the nature and planning of the exercise, the qualifications of instructors and personnel responsible for safety, equipment used, risk-prevention protocols, environmental conditions and the emergency response available at the scene.
Investigators have also requested images, communications, incident records and information concerning any forensic examinations or internal investigations opened following the death.
The police have been given 10 days to provide the requested information.
Experienced And Qualified Diver
The Federal District Military Police said the officers involved were appropriately qualified for lake operations and that specialist training forms part of the normal operational routine of units within its Environmental Police Battalion.
Duran served with the battalion’s lake operations company and had joined the police force little more than a year before his death.
In a statement following the incident, the police described him as a highly dedicated athlete who was known for his discipline and was well regarded by his colleagues.
The exact cause of Duran’s death and the circumstances that led to him becoming submerged remain subject to investigation.
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