• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

“Diver’s Cemetery”: Why This Is The Deadliest Place In The World To Dive

September 23, 2022 by Deborah Bloomfield

Off the coast of Dahab, Egypt sits a cavernous hole stretching over 100 meters (328) feet into the depths of the Red Sea. Surrounded by coral and reef fish and containing a spectacular cathedral-esque arch, the natural beauty of the Red Sea Blue Hole continues to lure countless divers to their deaths, awarding it the name “Diver’s Cemetery”.

The deaths of at least 40 divers have been recorded in the area around the hole, but the death toll is actually estimated to be close to 200. Memorial plaques surrounding the entrance pay tribute to the many divers who have attempted to traverse the submerged cave system.

Advertisement

While it’s still unclear what makes the Red Sea Blue Hole the deadliest diving location on Earth, the geological structure of the hole is thought to be the cause.

The shallow 6-meter (20-foot) entrance, called “the saddle”, is close to the Dahab shore, and plunges straight down for 120 meters (328 feet). A tunnel known as “the Arch” is 55 meters (181 feet) down the sea wall, leading off from the hole. With a 65-meter (213-foot) floor-to-ceiling height, and stretching for 26 meters (85 feet), the tunnel is described as looking like an underwater cathedral.

Despite its ominous reputation (or perhaps because of it), the Blue Hole is an incredibly popular diving location, with explorers plunging its depths almost daily. 

Advertisement

While recreational divers and tours of the area steer visitors away from the Blue Hole arch, some thrill-seekers still insist on traversing the tunnel that has led to so many deaths.

Tarek Omar, a technical driver from Dahab, began exploring the hole in 1992. Shortly after, in 1997, he began retrieving bodies. As the number of bodies pulled from the depths by Omar grew, he became known as the “bone collector”.

Of the local divers and instructors working in the area, some speculate the sheer number of deaths is down to the lack of knowledge and experience of some people looking to venture into the arch.

Advertisement

However, the complexity of this geological feature poses its own challenges. 

An illustration of the blue hole of dahab and what the tunnels look like under water

What the Blue Hole actually looks like. Image credit: Solarisys/Shutterstockc.com

The depth of the entrance to the arch is hard to spot, if divers miss the entrance and continue down the 120-meter (328 feet) depth they can succumb to nitrogen narcosis, known as “the martini effect”, causing physical and mental impairment similar to the effects of alcohol.

Underestimating the immense length of the tunnel, combined with the extra energy needed to swim against the current flowing in from the open ocean, has meant divers sometimes run out of oxygen while trying to make their way out through the arch.

Advertisement

The Red Sea Blue Hole poses a number of dangers, and has claimed the lives of vastly experienced and prepared divers as a result. As the number of visitors doesn’t appear to be decreasing, the Blue Hole looks set to remain the deadliest diving spot on Earth. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Asian stocks’ relative valuations to global peers at 14-month low
  2. Sudan military-civilian tensions reach low point in wake of coup attempt
  3. Investors with $4 trln assets aim to tackle Asian firms on climate change goals
  4. Strong Geomagnetic Storm Expected Following Coronal Mass Ejection About To Hit Earth

Source Link: "Diver's Cemetery": Why This Is The Deadliest Place In The World To Dive

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Living Cement: The Microbes In Your Walls Could Power The Future
  • What Can Your Earwax Reveal About Your Health?
  • Ever Seen A Giraffe Use An Inhaler? Now You Can, And It’s Incredibly Wholesome
  • Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Biosignatures, New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, And Much More This Week
  • Crocodiles Weren’t All Blood-Thirsty Killers, Some Evolved To Be Plant-Eating Vegetarians
  • Stratospheric Warming Event May Be Unfolding In The Southern Polar Vortex, Shaking Up Global Weather Systems
  • 15 Years Ago, Bees In Brooklyn Appeared Red After Snacking Where They Shouldn’t
  • Carnian Pluvial Event: It Rained For 2 Million Years — And It Changed Planet Earth Forever
  • There’s Volcanic Unrest At The Campi Flegrei Caldera – Here’s What We Know
  • The “Rumpelstiltskin Effect”: When Just Getting A Diagnosis Is Enough To Start The Healing
  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version