The body of a diver missing since Saturday noon in the sea area of ​​Larnaca airport was located before midday on Sunday at a depth of 18 metres the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre announced on Sunday.

He was later named as Marios Patsalos aged 30 from Nicosia. A post-mortem will be carried out on Monday.

“The missing diver was located at 11:23am in the sea area of ​​Larnaca airport at a depth of 18 metres and was transported to Larnaca port, where he was delivered to an ambulance and to the Larnaca A&E,” the announcement said.

It added that the search was completed with the help of police helicopters, the National Guard frogmen unit the coastguard and marine police, plus boats with civil defence personnel and lifeguards, and also volunteer civilian divers.

The search operation was launched around midday on Saturday after the authorities received notification about the missing man.

The man had been spearfishing with a friend. They were not using diving cylinders.

The search went on until darkness fell on Saturday and resumed at first light on Sunday.