Latvian and Estonian rescue crews are continuing an extensive search for a diver who went missing during a wreck dive in the Baltic Sea over the weekend, as authorities widen the operation to include underwater unmanned vehicles.
The Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center of the Latvian Coast Guard received a report at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, of a missing diver approximately 10 nautical miles northeast of Roja, a coastal town in northwestern Latvia. According to information gathered by rescue authorities, a group of four divers had descended on a shipwreck in the area. Three of the divers returned to the surface safely; the fourth has not been located.
A multi-agency search and rescue operation was launched immediately after the report was received. The Latvian Navy patrol vessel P-07, the SAR-2 search and rescue boat, and the RK-29 State Border Guard vessel were deployed to the site, alongside an aircraft from the National Armed Forces Air Force. Estonia contributed a search and rescue helicopter, and Latvia’s Navy and State Border Guard committed additional resources as the operation expanded. In the initial hours of the search, the yacht Dalriada and several other vessels in the vicinity also assisted rescue crews.
Authorities say further search phases will bring in underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs) to examine the wreck itself and the surrounding seabed. Rescue officials note that fishing nets and other underwater obstructions are believed to be present at the dive site — a known hazard on many Baltic wreck sites, where discarded nets can entangle divers and complicate both diving and search operations.
The search entered its second day on Monday, July 13, continuing to focus on the area where the missing diver is believed to be. As of the most recent update, the diver’s whereabouts remained unknown, and no further details on the diver’s identity, nationality, or certification level have been released by authorities.
Wreck diving is a major draw in the Baltic Sea, where cold, low-salinity water helps preserve thousands of shipwrecks in near-original condition, drawing both recreational and technical divers from across Europe. But the same conditions that preserve the wrecks — poor visibility at depth, near-freezing bottom temperatures, and derelict fishing gear snagged on wreck structures — also make the region one of the more demanding wreck-diving environments, underscoring the importance of proper training, line- and net-cutting tools, and conservative dive planning on Baltic wreck sites.
Diventures will update this article as further information becomes available from Latvian and Estonian authorities.
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