Nathalie Lasselin in a remarkable 70 km underwater walk

Award-winning filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin decided to take a 70-kilometre underwater walk in the St Lawrence River. With her feat, she wanted to draw attention to the problem of water pollution. The 47-year-old was supposed to spend more than 24 hours underwater, but things did not go according to plan.

“The earth will survive without us. Our planet doesn’t need us, but we need it.” – Lasselin said before diving into the water and beginning her underwater march.

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When planning her dive, the woman expected to cover the distance in 28-30 hours, passing 8 bridges and 2 tunnels on the way. Unfortunately, not everything was foreseeable and the underwater walk was somewhat longer…

The plan was to start the mission early in the morning on Friday 14 September and finish in the morning or early afternoon on Saturday 15 September. However, the whole thing was extended by 12h and Lasselin did not surface until the evening. All because of the seaweed growing on the river bed, which slowed down the pace of the march considerably.

At all times, Lasselin was in radio communication, with the group of divers accompanying her and the safety team. This allowed her to improve the replenishment of her breathing mixture and to report on her wellbeing.

The entire dive was filmed and will be presented as a documentary. In addition, samples collected in the river will be analysed by specialists.

Source: cbc.ca