Diver missing off Dubai

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Abdullah

Contributor
Messages
368
Reaction score
214
Location
Abu Dhabi
# of dives
500 - 999
Gulf news reporting a missing spearo near Dubai.

Dubai: Family and friends of a 35-year-old Algerian diver who went missing off the Dubai coast on New Year’s Day are praying for his return, even as a massive search by the authorities entered the eighth day on Wednesday.

Adel Ait-Ghezala, 35, a PhD student in international relations from the American University in Washington DC, was spearfishing with three of his friends 22 km off Dubai Marina last Wednesday when he suddenly disappeared.

Dubai-based Nadim Majzoub, one of the three divers who was with Adel and Rana, said they had set out on their trip at around 11.15am on January 1 and all was well until they encountered a current 22 miles off the coast. The visibility also turned poor.

“The water conditions were murky. We had a visibility of two metres or less on the surface and around five metres at the bottom of the sea. So we decided to split, with one of us keeping watch from the boat along with Rana, while the others would descend and come up together. Adel and I went down together and our fins were just back to back.”

However when Majzoub surfaced, Adel was not with him.

“I held my head out waiting for him to pop up. But a minute passed and nothing happened. We got really worried when we didn’t see him even five minutes later. The other two divers went down looking for him, while Rana and I did a surface search. We also contacted the coast guard. ”

He said Adel disappeared at around 3.40pm. “He is a very experienced diver and just that morning he was saying how much he loved to dive, ” he added.
 
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We don't know what happened but I can see the stressors here: a three buddy system, spearfishing, low viz, current. Those require extra vigilance and staying close together.
 
I wouldn't put too much stay on what is reported in the press here sadly. In all likelihood, we will never find out the truth.
 
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