Two drownings in Catalonia on Saturday: 18-year-old dies in Llobregat lock, French diver off Cadaqués

Catalan emergency services worked through a tragic Saturday, responding to two fatal water incidents within half an hour.

Llobregat drowning

A group of young people was jumping into the water at the L'Ametlla de Merola lock in Puig-reig (Barcelona). Around 15:22, witnesses reported that an 18-year-old had plunged in and did not resurface. Twelve fire crews, including a helicopter and the underwater rescue group (GRAE), deployed to the scene, searching 200 metres of the river from the lock. The youth’s body was located underwater at 16:59 and resuscitation began, but he could not be revived. Earlier in the afternoon, a separate report had said he was pulled out unconscious, airlifted to hospital, and admitted with a reserved prognosis. Later updates confirmed his death.

Cadaqués diving accident

Almost simultaneously, at about 15:30, the 112 emergency line received a call that a French diver in his eighties had not returned to the boat waiting for him near the Illot de s'Encalladora, off the coast of Cadaqués (Alt Empordà). Salvamento Marítimo coordinated a search involving the fire brigade’s underwater team, the maritime unit of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Red Cross, and the Guardia Civil. Rescue teams located the diver’s body roughly two hours later, at a depth of three metres near S'Encalladora.

Rescue and investigations

Both operations drew on specialist resources: the GRAE divers, a medicalised helicopter, and multiple ambulances attended the Llobregat incident, while the Cadaqués response also involved the same underwater technical unit that was searching for a minor missing since Wednesday in Roses after a jetski incident. The Mossos d’Esquadra are handling judicial procedures at the river lock; the Guardia Civil has taken over the investigation of the diver’s death.

Catalan authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims. The simultaneous drownings prompted a large-scale deployment that included psychologists for the friends of the deceased youth.