![]() The Blue Hole is a submarine sinkhole, with a maximum depth within the hole of just over 100 m (328 feet). The Blue Hole is a diving location on the southeast Sinai, a few kilometres north of Dahab, Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea. Hauntingly, he described the pair as locked in an embrace, likely due to one getting into difficulty and dragging down the other when he attempted to come to his aid.28☃4′19.99″N 34☃2′14.55″E / 28.5722194°N 34.5373750☎ / 28.5722194 34.5373750 In a 2012 interview, Tarek Omar stated that he had lost count of the number of bodies he has recovered from the Hole, beginning with two young Irish divers in 1997. Due to the potentially distressing nature of the footage, I have chosen not to link to it directly.Īs with bodies on Everest, many of the victims of the Blue Hole cannot be safely recovered, and their bodies remain there perpetually. The footage was eventually shared online, resulting in the notoriety surrounding Lipski’s death. His helmet camera was found to still be functioning, and was found to have recorded the circumstances of his death. Lipski’s body was recovered by Tarek Omar, one of the world’s best deep divers, the following day. As his struggling became more frantic, he accidentally removed his regulator and drowned. He is believed to have suffered severe nitrogen narcosis, an anesthetic effect caused by certain gases at high pressure (similar to the effect of nitrous oxide). Attempting the dive on a single tank, Lipski entered an uncontrolled descent to a depth of around 115 metres. The most famous death at the site came in 2000, when 22-year old Russian-Israeli diver Yuri Lipski drowned in the Blue Hole. As a result, Egyptian authorities have now posted a permanent police presence at the Blue Hole to ensure divers only enter with a certified guide. Some even offer ‘safe’ dives down below the Arch for inexperienced clients. Image: Дмитрий Кузнецовĭespite a blanket ban on diving below 40 metres with compressed air in the Red Sea for safety reasons, many tourists report diving guides willing to overlook this rule for a fee. Memorials to divers lost in the Blue Hole. On average, divers report that they visually estimated the tunnel to be around 10 metres in length, less than half of its true length. Frighteningly, even when accompanied by experienced guides, a diver in difficulty is often beyond help even when just a few metres too deep.Ī lack of reference points within the Arch and the visible light at the far side also leads divers to significantly underestimate the length of the swim required. This appears to be a significant contributing factor in a number of deaths, with divers quickly getting into trouble before they have realised the danger and that they are in deeper water than they were expecting. The entry to the Arch can also be difficult to find, risking a diver continuing deeper than they are prepared for if they miss the opening. Located close to a popular diving resort and in clear, warm water, the dive often appears much less dangerous than it really is. Mistakes, as well as any delays, risk a diver having insufficient air to reach the surface safely without risking decompression sickness, or worse, simply running out altogether.Ī number of other factors may play a role. While there is no consensus regarding why the Blue Hole has proven so deadly, most agree that the length and depth of the Arch makes for a difficult technical dive, requiring careful gas management to complete on a single air tank. ![]() A diver passing beneath the Blue Hole’s notorious Arch.
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