About me
Marcel Korkus
Welcome to my underwater world!
This website is dedicated to my greatest passion – diving. I started my adventure with the underwater world in 2003. Since then, rapid development and subsequent training allowed me to become a technical diver, cave diver and diving instructor, while also doing more than 3 thousand dives. Starting from diving in cold Polish waters to diving in Asia, North America, South America, Africa and Australia. These were dives during which I had the opportunity to admire and explore places not always available to others. Wrecks, reefs, flooded drifts and mines, caves, or wildlife fauna when swimming among sharks. Many years of experience in working with various services and as an expert witness in the field of diving and underwater search allow me to approach such an alien environment as water with humility. Many years of diving, working on saturation diving vessels and belonging to diving federations such as IANTD, TDI, CMAS and PADI have enabled me to develop the best procedures and setups for me. The opportunity to be a technical and rebreather diver gives me the chance to reach places that are inaccessible to recreational divers, and to show non-divers the beauty of the underwater world. Therefore, I intend to make my next dives exclusively in closed circuits, which opens up new possibilities for me to explore more than 70% of our Planet.
World records
In December 2019, I set my second world record in high-altitude diving at an elevation of 6,395 meters above sea level, on the slopes of the active volcano Ojos del Salado in the Andes. This dive allowed me to reclaim the world record title that I had first established in 2016. This achievement demonstrates that we often set our own limits, and that overcoming them is a matter of ambition and consistency in pursuing one’s goals. It is also proof that a boy who once nearly drowned and began as a self-taught swimmer in a small rural swimming pool can reach a level that enables him to carry out a diving project which one of the world’s largest commercial diving companies – COMEX – was unable to execute in field conditions, conducting similar attempts only later in controlled hyperbaric systems under medical supervision.
Geographical Discoveries
In 2016, during the Cazadero Diving Expedition 2016, I discovered the highest-altitude lake on Earth, located in Argentina. This extraordinary body of water lies on the slope of the Cazadero volcano at an altitude of 5,985 meters above sea level. According to international hydrological standards, it meets all the criteria to be classified as a true lake. For me, this discovery was something truly exceptional — it allowed me to feel like a modern-day Christopher Columbus, exploring new frontiers and revealing the blank spots on our planet’s map.
Expert in Underwater Search and Rescue
As a specialist and court-appointed expert in water rescue diving and underwater search operations, I have for many years supported families of missing persons, rescue services, and the justice system in cases where crucial answers lie beneath the water’s surface. In my work, I combine modern search technologies with practical diving experience gained both in Poland and internationally. The effectiveness of my operations is confirmed by numerous successful recoveries of missing persons in cases previously handled unsuccessfully by specialized state institutions. I have also participated in high-profile and precedent-setting cases that are now used as educational material for students of law and criminology, including the recovery of the body of a woman murdered 24 years earlier in one of Poland’s first cases based on circumstantial evidence. Many of the assignments I undertake involve cases considered hopeless, where standard procedures have failed. My effectiveness results from an individual approach, operational flexibility, and the use of specialized private equipment, enabling outcomes unattainable through rigid, schematic operations.
Charity Work
In 2021, I founded the SAR 112 Foundation, whose mission is to conduct rescue and search operations for missing persons in aquatic environments and hard-to-access terrain. The Foundation supports families and rescue services by using specialized equipment and the experience of a team of rescuers and divers.
More information about the activities of the SAR 112 Foundation can be found HERE.
In May 2025, I was honored with the title Personality of the Year 2024 in the category Social and Charitable Activity. I was also awarded the Gratia Maior distinction for civic responsibility and commitment to saving human life, health, and property, as well as for participation in the search for water-related victims.
Marcel Korkus – Diving Instructor
As a diving instructor since 2013, I share my knowledge and experience gained through several thousand dives, teaching both fundamental skills and more advanced diving techniques. My diving courses are comprehensive training programs designed to prepare students for safe, independent diving as well as for further development in recreational and technical diving. The training programs include theory sessions, practical pool exercises, and open-water dives, ensuring that every participant feels confident using their acquired skills. During my courses, I place particular emphasis on safety, dive planning, and conscious equipment management, allowing students not only to learn procedures but also to apply them smoothly in real diving situations — from their first dives to more independent underwater sessions. Completing the courses provides a solid foundation that often serves as a starting point for further diving education (such as advanced and specialty courses) and results in internationally recognized certification. Ready to get started? Explore my course offerings and choose the training that suits you best: Diving Courses.
