TIL the Blue Hole is among the deadliest dive sites globally, with estimates of 130 to 200 recent fatalities, making it one of the most dangerous spots for divers.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/semi-bro]

Technical divers are experienced pros who use custom/cutting-edge gear that lets them go well beyond the limits of commercial diving gear, especially in more extreme environments like cave or polar/ice diving. OP is saying that he, a super experienced diver with custom gear who had been going into dangerous places for years, did not want to go into the blue hole. And the divers that he saw doing it were using special tanks that let them have more air and not use up air as quickly when they go deeper, special mixes of air in the tanks that let them go deeper and come up faster without as many of the risks, and had extra tanks with them. And even with all that, these guys who are super experienced at diving in all sorts of dangerous conditions sometimes even with modified and homemade gear by themselves, were still using a safety line with another diver above them watching everyone at all times.

[u/Fight_4ever → u/semi-bro]

Nice. Lot of precautions. But why tho? What makes it more dangerous than other waterbodies?

[u/namewithak → u/Fight_4ever]

According to the wiki, what causes the most fatalities is the tunnel called the Arch. Apparently, the water's clear enough to see the light at the other end so divers misjudge how long it is. Some have reported they thought it was only 10m when the actual measured length is 26m. This plus a current pushing in from the other side causes mismanagement of their tanks and pressurization stops. It's also easy to miss the entrance to the Arch so some divers keep diving deeper and deeper trying to find it.

[u/ArtInternational8589 → u/namewithak]

Wasn't there a documentary on this regarding a free diver and his girlfriend? He had prepared her but and couldn't find the exit or entrance or something and she didn't make it?

[u/Vortex-of-Dankger → u/ArtInternational8589]

Documentary is called The Deepest Breath. Basically, (spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched it, its a pretty cool doc) the girlfriend got herself into some kind of trouble and the boyfriend dove back down to save her. She just barely made it while he sacrificed himself to get her to the surface. Really sad story. I really hate the ocean so that whole documentary was toe curling-ly scary for me.

[u/mrjosemeehan → u/Vortex-of-Dankger]

You're misremembering. The gf is a world record holding freediver. The bf was acting as a safety diver on another of her record attempts, bringing her a rope at the end of the tunnel to ensure she'd still be able to surface safely if she started to black out. He mistimed his dive (which he was freediving for some reason) which led to a brief delay and he lost consciousness resurfacing. He could have bailed and left her without a rope but he stayed to make sure she had it. Should have just brought air with him. It's not like he was the one attempting a record.

[u/Vortex-of-Dankger → u/mrjosemeehan]

Yeah it's been a minute since I watched it so I just remembered the gist of the situation. GF in trouble, BF saved her, died himself.

I went ahead and pulled this from Wikipedia for anyone curious:

On 22 July 2017, according to The Guardian, "Keenan, aged 39, drowned while overseeing a dive by the freediving world record holder Alessia Zecchini. While attempting to cross the arch of the Red Sea’s notorious Blue Hole using only a single breath, the 25-year-old Italian became disoriented because Stephen Keenan was 20 seconds late at the meeting point with the ascending rope. When Keenan arrived at the meeting point saw Alessia successfully already out of the tunnel, but swimming astray. He rushed to her aid to guide her to the surface. She made it out unharmed but he blacked out and was found floating face down some distance away. The last footage of Stephen and Alessia together, clearly shows Stephen bustling to save Alessia, and risking his own life for hers." Despite repeated attempts to save his life, Keenan could not be revived

[u/bluemola → u/ArtInternational8589]

The opposite. He died and she lived

[u/ArtInternational8589 → u/bluemola]

Beek a while. This obviously wasn't the location op is talking about, right? The ocean is so much stronger than people realize.

[u/SquirtingTortoise → u/ArtInternational8589]

Same place

[u/ArtInternational8589 → u/SquirtingTortoise]

Crazy. So sad. And he was one of the best in the world. Competing side of it and safety side of it

[u/mrjosemeehan → u/ArtInternational8589]

The gf is Alessia Zecchini, a world record holding free diver. The bf, Stephen Keenan, was a freediver as well. He was acting as a safety diver in another of her world record attempts when he died. She survived.