Two divers have died after an emergency ascent from approximately 80 metres at a popular dive site on Lake Constance.
The incident occurred on Sunday 2 August at the Tennisplätze site in Überlingen, on the German shore of the lake in the Bodenseekreis district of Baden-Württemberg.
A 46-year-old woman and her 64-year-old dive partner were on a joint dive when they initiated an emergency ascent at around 10:30 for reasons that remain unclear.
According to a local police report, the man was already unconscious during the ascent. The woman was initially reported as having lost consciousness after reaching land, but a correction issued later the same day clarified that she lost consciousness shortly after surfacing, while still in the water.
Both divers died at the scene despite resuscitation attempts.
In a statement, Polizeipräsidium Ravensburg said: ‘On Sunday (2 August 2026) a fatal diving accident occurred at the Tennisplätze dive site in Überlingen.
‘According to current findings, a 46-year-old female diver and her 64-year-old dive partner were on a joint dive and initiated an emergency ascent at around 10:30 from a depth of approximately 80 metres for reasons that are still unexplained.
‘The man was already unconscious during the ascent, while his companion lost consciousness shortly afterwards. Despite resuscitation measures, both divers died at the scene.
‘The exact circumstances of death and the reasons for the emergency ascent are the subject of ongoing investigations by the Water Police Überlingen.’
The second-largest freshwater lake in western Europe, Lake Constance borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it is generally known by its German name, Bodensee.
The lake is a popular inland destination for scuba divers from each country, although most of the diving is on the northern German shore.
The dive site known as Tennisplätze lies close to the town of Überlingen and is used by both novices and experienced technical divers.
A gently sloping shallow area near the shoreline is often used for training, however, the lake bed drops off into a wall at around 30m, eventually reaching around 120m of depth.
Police have seized the divers’ equipment and launched an investigation into the series of events that led to the emergency ascent.
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