Deaths in the Blue Hole are mostly due to divers’ mistakes, lack of preparation

Dahab’s Blue Hole’s “fearsome reputation” as a “divers’ cemetery” is undeserved, divers tell The Guardian’s Edmund Bower. The rising incidence of deaths among technical divers and freedivers is a concern, but divers at the Blue Hole say it “isn’t that dangerous” as long as “divers do their homework and exercise due caution.” Diving the Blue Hole is “an expensive hobby requiring lots of training, and many are unwilling to put in the hours.” Now, safety precautions are being steadily introduced as the sport develops a system of self-regulation. “It’s beautiful … There’s nothing else like it. It’s like standing in an underwater cathedral,” dive instructor Alex Heyes says, adding that “if you look at recent deaths worldwide, the Blue Hole is way down.”