Holy S...!!

[MarkUK]

We are never going to know for sure, but after you have dived this site and seen the numbers of people going to 50, 60, 70m plus on single ali 12-litre cylinders (and seen all the plaques with the names of the 100 or so dead), it is highly probable that he was going for his own personal depth record (hence showing his computer to the camera) and it all went pear-shaped. Air at 91m is going to screw you up big-time.

Yes, it is possible he had a catastrophic event, but what about the other 99 that have died at this location? Did they all have non-diving-related issues that killed them? There is always the chance of a seizure, etc, but given where this happened, I think it was a deep air dive gone seriously, tragically wrong.

Mark

 

[Jai Bar]

Yes, it is possible he had a catastrophic event, but what about the other 99 that have died at this location? Did they all have non-diving-related issues that killed them? There is always the chance of a seizure, etc, but given where this happened, I think it was a deep air dive gone seriously, tragically wrong.

Mark

Some of the "99" (or whatever number) have died in other dive sites, such as the Canyon. However, I know of quite a lot of deaths that were accredited to the Blue Hole. Either from ignorance of reporters, or because the Blue Hole sounds much "better" in the newspapers as a "diver's trap" so they keep its reputation...

For example, the father of a very good friend of mine died a few years ago from an heart attack while diving in Dahab. Local media reported "Another diver dies in the accursed Blue Hole"... His death has nothing to do with the Blue Hole, other than being close on the map :shakehead

Anyway, the footage shown in YouTube was taken from an Israeli movie- "Nitrogen Narcosis" about the Blue Hole. There are interviews with divers who missed death, parents and friends of dead divers (such as Ofer Michaeli, RIP, who used to have one of the earliest plaquettes on the wall, just on the step on the way to "The Bells"- I think it withered during the years). In the film there are also interviews with people like Howard Rosenstein who was one of the very first dive operators in Sharm el Sheikh (early 70's)... The whole movie (in Hebrew) is circulating in p2p networks...

 

[MarkUK]

You're right, some of the deaths might have happened at other locations and been credited to the Blue Hole, but even so, the Blue Hole itself has had far more actual recorded fatalities than probably any other site in the Red Sea, and while I have seen people doing stupid dives on recreational equipment elsewhere in Egyptian and Sudanese waters, by far the majority were in the Blue Hole, so it is no wonder it has gained such a reputation. A shame because it is a reasonably interesting dive, though the Canyon is a better all-round dive anyway.

Mark

 

[frankc420]

Anyone know John Edwards number? Maybe he can call this guy up and find out the whole story...

J/K... tragic, but a stupid stunt none-the-less.

 

[Cacia]

died a few years ago from an heart attack while diving in Dahab. Local media reported "Another diver dies in the accursed Blue Hole"...

happens ALL the time. By the time the autopsy is done..it has all blown over and everyone remembers the "shark" part or the "ninja dive spot" or the "equipment conspiracy".....

I was thinking the story might be obtainable too...from the poster on U-tube.

 

[cerich]

I don't know Catherine, it was cardiac in that when they die the heart stops I guess... My personal deepest air dive was at Dahab in 93, in fact it scared me off really deep air in a serious way. (depth and details not needed except to say I was being as stupid as I've ever been) For the next few years I limited my deep air dives to 210 max and by 1998 converted all my deeper than 130 diving to trimix.

The dive before my "deep record" I was at 72 meters watching a German chap with a homemade triple cylinder setup below me at least another 40-50 meters below me, he was on air. He died two days later and the day after I scared myself.

Young and invincible gets people there.

 

[Cacia]

I don't know Catherine, it was cardiac in that when they die the heart stops I guess...

they can usually tell the difference.

Look at the numbers of cardiac deaths in this country...#1 cause by factor of two or something. This risk doesn't go away because he is "diving" of course.

If you took the numbers of deaths for heart disease, and then the numbers of divers per year and their actual dive time, you could probably estimate how many "should" be dying in the water each year.

 

[limbo]

I don't know Catherine, it was cardiac in that when they die the heart stops I guess... My personal deepest air dive was at Dahab in 93, in fact it scared me off really deep air in a serious way. (depth and details not needed except to say I was being as stupid as I've ever been) For the next few years I limited my deep air dives to 210 max and by 1998 converted all my deeper than 130 diving to trimix.

The dive before my "deep record" I was at 72 meters watching a German chap with a homemade triple cylinder setup below me at least another 40-50 meters below me, he was on air. He died two days later and the day after I scared myself.

Young and invincible gets people there.

Cerich,

Guess this summs it pretty much up.

Being an Instructor Trainer, whenever I'm teaching the Deep Dive Specialty (and some other Specs as well) and emphasize all the safety aspects involved, a lot of times I get the feeling that my experience and advise goes in one ear and exits the other the next moment.

It seems they want to invent the wheel again, over and over. Mainly younger candidates indeed.

 

[ofleisher]

The Camera was at his hands but connected to his bcd with no option to release it !!! - the guy was instructor. it was solo dive as he could not find buddies around ! later on the movie there is an interview with one of the clubs owners who dived to the bottom to bring Yuri up (by the way on 3-mix) who new him and told him to avoid this dive.... sound like a death wish ? sure BUT look back how many times you done such things... on dives, on the roads etc... I'm sure Yuri thought he will win the situation...

I DO THINK IT WAS VERY BIG MISTAKE !!!

BY THE WAY - I just heard that another Tech diver died today near Sharem el- Shiech (Russian again...)

 

[coach_izzy]

The Camera was at his hands but connected to his bcd with no option to release it !!! - the guy was instructor. it was solo dive as he could not find buddies around ! later on the movie there is an interview with one of the clubs owners who dived to the bottom to bring Yuri up (by the way on 3-mix) who new him and told him to avoid this dive.... sound like a death wish ? sure BUT look back how many times you done such things... on dives, on the roads etc... I'm sure Yuri thought he will win the situation...

I DO THINK IT WAS VERY BIG MISTAKE !!!

BY THE WAY - I just heard that another Tech diver died today near Sharem el- Shiech (Russian again...)

Yikes! You'd think people would think twice before the first few incidents! If it happens to tech divers, well, I guess recreational divers should be a lot more cautious. Tragic indeed.