Diver's body on Gustloff - prosecution investigates

The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the corpses found on the wreck of the German vessel “Wilhelm Gustloff”.

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The investigation into the case the body of a diver found was initiated by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lębork. Investigators are carrying out activities on the grounds of manslaughter. Their main task is to identify the body and determine the cause of death. To this end, they are planning to excavate the corpse as soon as possible. The Polish Navy is likely to be involved in the operation.

In addition to many characteristic items of equipment that will probably allow to determine the identity of the diver, a DNA test will certainly be conducted. It is this test that will definitely decide whether the diver is the Poznań resident who went missing on 28 July 2012. If the comparative DNA test confirms that the deceased is the missing Robert Szlecht, the prosecution will reopen the investigation from years ago.

The case from 7 years ago is known in the diving community as “Terra 2” and arouses a lot of emotion due to all the circumstances of the disappearance. Especially because of the subsequent testimony of the other participants in the dive. Until the end, they maintained that the dive was not conducted on the banned wreck of the “Wilhelm Gustloff”, but on the nearby wreck of the tanker “Terra”. This contradicts what the wife of the missing man testified.

The search and rescue operation on the surface and the search under water were carried out by rescuers on the wreck of the “Terra” and in its vicinity. Unfortunately, the missing Robert Szlecht was never found. Undoubtedly, the identification of the remains would have made it possible to clarify what, and above all where, happened on 28 July 2012.

Malta is a great place for a diving trip. Very diverse in terms of diving sites and level of difficulty. You can read more about diving in Malta in Carollina Wells’ article, which we published in issue 17. DIVERS24 quarterly! The digital version of the magazine is available free of charge, while the printed version can be purchased from our webshop.