Biarritz cliff collapse: search for missing diver called off after three days, body unrecovered
Authorities in Biarritz ended the search Saturday for a 34-year-old man missing since a cliff collapse killed his partner on June 24. An advanced sonar drone found personal gear but no remains.
The collapse
On Wednesday, June 24, around 8:20 p.m., a large section of cliff at Pointe Saint-Martin in Biarritz crumbled into the Atlantic. About 2,000 cubic meters of rock fell near the lighthouse, striking a group of three spear-fishers. One man survived but was badly shaken; his two companions were buried. Rescue workers recovered the body of 33-year-old Salomé Lasla-Boireau later that evening, but her 34-year-old partner remained missing.
Search efforts
The municipal government, led by former rugby star and current mayor Serge Blanco, took over the search from firefighters on Thursday. Biarritz hired marine services company Jifmar to deploy a high-performance underwater drone equipped with sonar. The device scoured an area within 150 meters of the collapse site. It located diving equipment, a fin and a harpoon, belonging to the victims in a zone too dangerous for human divers.
Search operations continued Friday and Saturday. In a statement Saturday evening, the city said:
Fire captain Bernard Leugé, who co-led the initial operation, had said Thursday that "we did everything we could, we cannot find the body." Specialized teams concluded that given the currents, seabed relief, and drift conditions, there was no further useful way to extend the search.Despite the significant human and material resources deployed, the second body has unfortunately not been found.
Erosion threat
Biarritz sits on the eroding Atlantic coast. Mayor Blanco noted that the coastline "is working" and the collapse may be linked to natural erosion. The region's cliffs are known to be unstable, and the event coincided with a heatwave that had drawn crowds to nearby Miramar beach. A local conservation association warned that the cliff from Miramar to the Chambre d'Amour beach in neighboring Anglet is affected by ongoing erosion. Le Parisien reported that erosion threatens thousands of homes and businesses along the Atlantic coast from Charente-Maritime to the Basque Country by 2050.
- Cliff collapse at Pointe Saint-Martin; 2,000 m³ of rock fall into sea, striking three spear-fishers.
- Rescuers recover body of 33-year-old Salomé Lasla-Boireau.
- Firefighters hand search over to city; underwater drone deployed.
- City ends search for 34-year-old man; remains unrecovered.
