4 Divers Lost In Red Sea! Pls Help!

[Russian divers]

This is relly terrible. My understanding from reading the survivor's description is that it was a drift dive. In the rather limited drift diving I've done the boat drifts on the surface along with a float or floats attached to a line that is held by one of the divers down below. Did these guys have floats? Its really the only way the people in the boat can know where the divers are.

what's you mean by "floats"? a floating buoy (an orange one attached to the boat)?
the problem is when they surfaced THEY COULDN'T SEE A BOAT ITSELF... if so, then what floats are we speaking about...
if a SMB, yes, there was a SMB (as far asI know, it belonged to a diving guide).

 

[Russian divers]

Wow! I hope somehow there is a good ending to this. Things like that make me glad I upgraded to big giant 6 foot 50 lb SMBs.

we keep searching them. no good results yet in fact...

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

what's you mean by "floats"? a floating buoy (an orange one attached to the boat)?
if a SMB, yes, there was a SMB (as far asI know, it belonged to a diving guide).

I think he is saying that each diver should have at least 1 smb or sausage that is at least 6 feet long. In cases like this, the bigger the better. The more color and foot print you can make for someone to see you the better your chances

I have the extra large safety stop listed on this page as the 2nd item from the top. I am also considering getting the Oceanic listed as the first item since it can be used as a passive device to hold air by itself one inflated. The large safey stop must have the end rolled or held under water to maintain air in it. http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Acc_signal.asp


I was looking at the OMS high seas marker at the dive shop last night. It can hold air on its own and be used both as a float and raised air signal. http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/Cate...ock/DescSort_0/Filter_6=522/OMSLB9.html?Hit=1

Here are some links to articles that you might find helpful about diver location and various signals and will perhaps answer you questions.

Surface Survival Primer
http://www.tabula-international.com/DIV/SMB3.html

Diver location trials explains various methonds and effectiveness
http://www.jeanelaine.co.uk/diveraids/intro.htm

Equipped to Survice discussed mirror, lights, other signals
http://www.equipped.com/signal.htm


I am truely sorry for your friends and thier families. I hope they will be found. My thoughts are prayers are with you and their families.

 

[Russian divers]

...I have the extra large safety stop listed on this page as the 2nd item from the top. I am also considering getting the Oceanic listed as the first item since it can be used as a passive device to hold air by itself one inflated. The large safey stop must have the end rolled or held under water to maintain air in it....

I am truely sorry for your friends and thier families. I hope they will be found. My thoughts are prayers are with you and their families.

great links! thank you. will read the info-really useful for the future.and thanks for staying with us in this situation.
we hope that our prayers will save them...

 

[fisherdvm]

I remember a mexican DM who laughed at me for carrying a sausage on a night dive. I've heard enough about divers in the area (Cancun/coz) who drifted at sea for hours (most recently 1 month ago in this thread).

I think it should be recommended that we all carry back up flashlight/beacon with at least 24 hr battery life, surface noise maker, and a large visible sausage regardless if we dive day or night, especially in heavy sea.

We forget that boat captains, DM, etc, are not always keeping an eye on us.. and many risk our lives to make money. When the harbor was closed in Cancun for Rita, large boat owners continued to take divers out despite 4-5 ft waves. I will not name names, but most folks know who has the largest boats in Cancun.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Glad you found the links helpful. I wish there was more that I could do to help beyond providing a link on the web.

I was wondering how it is that you know these divers? Do you also dive? It is clear from reading your posts and Yury's post that they have found a true and caring friends in you. I went to the links that you guys provided with their pictures and the translation of the account of the man who made it to shore. How is he doing? And the families of the others?

I do some volunteer work with an organization that brings handicapped Russian orphans to the United States to receive medical care and prosthetic devices. There are two children that just came over the first of the year. One of the chaperons that came had been here a couple of years ago and I was glad to see her again. They are from the Penzsky and Nishneelamosh area--I am sure I have spelled that wrong. Whether it is the children, the workers in the orphanage who come or the Russian government officials who come to monitor the program at some point it is usually translated that if they lived here we would be friends as we are not so different as they thought. And it is true our language and climate may be different, but at the end of the day we love our families and friends , we hope and dream, cry and greive, and have passion for adventure and life no matter where we live.

Good luck to you and your friends. I will continue to pray for you, your friends and their families.

Leah

 

[samnewsom]

our prayers are with the divers keep us informed

 

[Russian divers]

I was wondering how it is that you know these divers? Do you also dive? It is clear from reading your posts and Yury's post that they have found a true and caring friends in you. I went to the links that you guys provided with their pictures and the translation of the account of the man who made it to shore. How is he doing? And the families of the others?

Leah,
yes, I dive (I'm ER TDI, Adv.En.Nx TDI, DecoPro TDI, AOWD PADI). I don't know these divers personally. But in fact, it doesn't really matter in this case. From the very first day all of us who deal with diving have been trying to help somehow. The world is too small (some of my friends know these divers). I'm helping with info I have and find, with translations, with some diving advice (when my level of knowledge and skills allows so).

About the rescued guy: he's feeling fine physically and stays with his family. He's doing his best to help us with the info as well.
The families of the 4 guys in search are live with their hope. They do and will believe that they're children/sister/brothers/beloved ones will come home.
We'd appreciate if we could pass the info about divers wanted to our Sudanese & Israeli colleagues. Of course, we've already posted this info at a lot of internet sites and forums. But personal info sometimes makes wonders.

We don't believe that 4 divers in more or less good health condition and being on surface could just disappear without a trace.
Thank you and all of the rest once again.
We stay on alert.

 

[Lehmann108]

what's you mean by "floats"? a floating buoy (an orange one attached to the boat)?
the problem is when they surfaced THEY COULDN'T SEE A BOAT ITSELF... if so, then what floats are we speaking about...
if a SMB, yes, there was a SMB (as far asI know, it belonged to a diving guide).

In the few drift dives that I've done here in Florida, every dive group in the water has one person holding a line that connects to a float with a dive flag attached to it on the surface. This way the boat captain can keep track of the dive groups in the water as they drift and he drifts along on the surface in his boat. You come up and the boat is within 75-50 feet of you. I just assumed that all drift diving was done this way, but I'm probably wrong.

 

[Russian divers]

In the few drift dives that I've done here in Florida, every dive group in the water has one person holding a line that connects to a float with a dive flag attached to it on the surface. This way the boat captain can keep track of the dive groups in the water as they drift and he drifts along on the surface in his boat. You come up and the boat is within 75-50 feet of you. I just assumed that all drift diving was done this way, but I'm probably wrong.

In Egypt they do it very rearly. And not this time, as far as I know.