Polish diver dies in Lake Garda

Sebastian Marczewski planned to go down to a depth of 333 meters and improve the result of Ahmed Gabr of Egypt, who descended to a depth of 332.35 metres in the Red Sea in 2014.

During a training session on Saturday, which took place between Tignale and the port of Tremosine on Lake Garda, the Pole immersed himself into the water but got stuck at a depth of 150 metres and was not able to ascend.

Two years ago, also in Lake Garda, Marczewski reached a depth of 240 metres, setting the Polish national record.

Marczewski, 41, was a professional soldier. An enthusiast of extreme sports, he had several successes in climbing, including scaling the summits of Mont Blanc in the Alps, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus.

Having suffered a back injury while serving in a Polish military mission in Afghanistan, he took to diving.

Marczewski was born and raised in the town of Stalowa Wola, south-eastern Poland.

Its mayor has written on social media: “The news of Sebastian Marczewski’s death has pierced my heart.[...] I have never met anyone with the same kind of passion, courage and determination in tackling the task that he placed before himself.”

(mk/pk)