Two French Servicemen Died in Diving Exercise in Maine River

Two French servicemen,aged 24 and 30,died on the night of Monday to Tuesday during a diving exercise in the Maine River,Angers,according to French news reports citing local public prosecutor.

One of the victims was assigned to the 6th Engineer Regiment,while the other served in the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment based in Laudun.

The diving training began at approximately 11:00 PM local time. Three hours later,the army supervisors lost contact with the two divers,said Angers public prosecutor Éric Bouillard.

Preliminary findings suggest the two soldiers may have been trapped in a cavity within a bridge pier spanning the river. Rescue teams later recovered the bodies of both men. They were in cardiac arrest,and attempts to revive them were unsuccessful.