Missing divers in Sharm el Sheikh

[supergaijin]

White Knight is a very benign dive site, not prone to currents IME.


There are some small caves as you can see on this map. I have never entered so can't comment whether there is anything of interest, but most guides don't consider them as a point of interest, besides maybe a lionfish or grouper hanging around at the mouth.

It's surprising to hear of an incident here as again, the site is so sheltered. I never experienced strong current- often it was nil, and as the boats are generally anchored, the plan would always be to return to the mooring line. Sharm does have boat traffic. I never saw glass-bottom boats at this site. These boats can be extremely dangerous for divers at safety stops or in the shallows.

 

[gianaameri]

The other obvious thing to check if it has not been done already is all the tanks filled from the same fill station for CO (before diving them).

Just a thought.

If you hit a diver with a boat and the diver did not have a Surface Buoy (not sure about local regulations), it is hardly the boat fault (unless the boat was proceeding at an unsafe speed given the prevalent conditions).

I'd say it is an insurance claim, rather than trying to cover it up (but of course the boat may not even have noticed injuring the divers).

I'd focus on the surface to find them alive, but you need helicopters for that and to calculate the drift based on entry point, time of the day of the dive, and local tide tables (if they exist).

Looks like a really nice place to dive.

 

[Ricko]

HI, Can anyone point me to any social media or other sources for more information on this? My Colleague from the UK left home last Friday to go diving in the Red Sea and is now missing with his instructor. I am wondering if this is the same incident. Are there any local papers in English or other sources that might name the divers involved? We are desperate for information and any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[kasatka]

I worked with this instructor! and he would NEVER put divers in danger! I am so shocked by this news And it is a lot of questions. White Knight is not the difficult dive site,it is in a Bay! We often sent students for Advanced course to do their dives. Search and rescue mission should NOT be stopped!

 

[maosub]

unfortunately, Ricko, this student is from UK, and his wife and two childs are struggling and waiting. it may be the same incident.

 

[Ricko]

Thank you Maosub. if anyone knows the student's first name please send it to me in private. My friend has a wife and two daughters and too many things are starting to align for me to believe it is a different incident. Thank you to everyone who is providing information and my gratitude to all those who are searching for the missing divers. We hope they just drifted away and will be found but we know that as time goes on the chances dim.

 

[LindaL]

Have just read all the recent updates to this thread(thanks for your reply Mat.) If I'm reading this correctly, it sounds like no air rescue attempt has been tried yet, only search divers actually at the dive site. If this is correct, then presumably an air search could have started by now .... I hope this is the case. I also believe that this could well mean the divers are indeed drifting and that if the water temp is reasonable, then there is still every reason to hope the divers may still be found. My thoughts are with the families and friends waiting for news, which unfortunately does seem to be sparse and doesn't help the situation. Fingers crossed.

 

[Tigerman]

With the ammount of boats (not to mention people at the beaches) at and around white knight (its enroute to straits of tiran) it would surprise me a bit if 2 divers could be floating off on the surface without being noticed. There also is some helicopter traffic in the area, due to the MFO camp at Tiran that could have spotted it.

That being said, I do not know how the search is being conducted, but the dive buisness in sharm is far from "third world" and its not the first and wont be the last time tragedy strikes - its a LOT of diving going on down there and unfortunately that also means statistically there WILL be incidents, regardless of how much you try avoiding them.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

I agree with Tigerman. Having dived the site and also stayed at a hotel there (H.S.B.). I can't imagine anyone drifting out of the bay and away without being able to raise the alarm.

 

[maosub]

Official Notice - October 31st. 2012
The Italian Embassy in Cario has with today taken control of the entire situation, asking to the Diving Center xxxxx to stop all Search and Recovery activities, as the Recreational Diving limits have already been reached and sometimes overcome.
It's now almost sure that those operations will be conducted by Impresub, which has already been alerted, and organized to move its Mobile Unit from Port Said down here in Sharm.
Every possible kind of Aerial and surface research have been done, without even the smallest indications that could give us a chance to find them taken away from strange currents.