Champion free diver Natalia Molchanova missing near Ibiza

The woman regarded by many as the greatest free diver in history has yet to surface from a dive in the Balearic Sea, near Spain, and is presumed to be dead.

Natalia Molchanova, a 53-year-old Russian champion freediver, was diving recreationally with friends near Ibiza on Sunday when she failed to resurface. A search continues for Molchanova, a Russian who holds a number of world records. She can reportedly hold her breath for nine minutes and dive to a depth of up to 330 feet.

According to the Times story, the water temperature in the area was around 79 degrees, but a layer of water below can be 10 to 15 degrees cooler.

Sunday, when it became apparent Molchanova was not surfacing, her fellow divers conducted a search before calling for help. She disappeared while diving approximately two miles northwest of the port of La Savina at Poniente de es Freus.

“The world has lost its greatest free diver”, Will Trubridge, a 15-time world-record holder in the sport, told the paper. Private boats, the Coast Guard and helicopters were part of fruitless search that started Sunday and was resumed Monday morning.

Her son, Alexey, is also an accomplished free diver. She was diving without fins at a depth of 90 to 130 feet and may have gotten pulled into a strong underwater current, her family says.

“She was an inspiration to all freedivers and despite being one of the fiercest competitors in the world, she was always calm and relaxed during competitions”, AIDA said in its release. She is the creator and current president of the Freediving Federation of Russia. The author of articles and freediving training handbooks, she has taught free diving internationally. She is based out of Moscow and has created one of the most vibrant recreational freediving communities in the world.