Zurich Police Diver Death to Be Reinvestigated After Probe Failures
The death of a Zurich cantonal police diver is set to be reinvestigated after reporting by the Tages-Anzeiger exposed serious flaws in the original inquiry.
The 44-year-old diver died during a search operation in the River Limmat in Dietikon in September 2025 — the first on-duty death in the Zurich cantonal police since 1979. He had been deployed after a passer-by reported a person calling for help near the Dietikon hydroelectric power plant, who subsequently went under.
The Zurich-Limmat public prosecutor's office initially ruled the death an "unfortunate accident" with no criminal relevance. But that conclusion is now under scrutiny. The Tages-Anzeiger found that the fish ladder at the facility — which generates a suction force of 350 kilograms and had been operational for six years — was never factored into the investigation. No external expert opinions were sought, and power plant employees were never interviewed.
The exact cause of the diving accident had been described as unclear at the time, with the public prosecutor's office tasked with investigation. Multiple independent sources have since pointed to a chain of safety and management deficiencies that were ignored in the original probe.
A spokesperson for the Zurich public prosecutor's office has now confirmed the case will be reopened, citing new circumstances that make it "appropriate to consider reopening the proceedings." An extraordinary public prosecutor from outside the canton will lead the reinvestigation.
