Russian freediving champion, Natalia Molchanova, widely regarded as the greatest free diver in history is feared dead after going missing on Sunday.
The 53-year-old Russian who held 41 world records in
and could hold her breath for nine minutes, was diving to a planned depth of 35 meters (115 ft) in waters two miles northwest of the port of La Savina at Poniente de es Freus on Sunday.
Miguel Felix, the head of the Balearic Islands Salvamento Marítimo who led the initial search for Molchanova described the circumstances of her disappearance.
“Those with her saw her going down but they didn’t see her coming back up again,” he said of the recreational dive she made with her son and friends from a chartered boat on Sunday afternoon.
“After 15 minutes the alarm was raised and we sent out boats and a helicopter to look for her but with there was no trace of her on the surface,” Felix told The Local by telephone.
He admitted that her body may never be washed up. “She was wearing weights to stop her floating to the surface – which is usual for the purpose of a dive – but it means that instead of floating up her body could be taken to the depths.”
The family explained that the world champion, who in May set a record of 71 meters (233 feet) for a dive without oxygen, may have struggled with strong underwater currents or a sudden plunge in water temperature.
“She was diving without fins to around 30 to 40m and supposable (sic) got into strong underwater current,” a statement released by her family said.
She was the world’s most decorated free-diver of all time, having amassed 20 individual gold medals and two team gold medals from the Free-diving World Championships.
