Ally

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian police have halted their search for three missing Russian divers in the Red Sea, and official said Monday, but a private diving rescue service said it will continue the search for another day.

The divers went missing in the Red Sea waters on Wednesday while diving at the Elphinstone Reef, southeast of the resort of Marsa Alam.

A police official said that the government halted its rescue operation because it determined the divers did not survive, and underwater currents would make it impossible to find their bodies. The official spoke condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

However, Alaa El Din Abdelgeleel, the head of the Red Sea Association for Diving and Water Activities, said his agency would continue its efforts to find the missing divers until late Tuesday.

«We have to continue our search for six total days,» Abdelgeleel said. «We still have eight boats looking in the deep sea.

Abdelgeleel said on Friday that there was only a slim chance of finding the three Russians, citing bad weather, strong winds and high waves.
The three were planning to dive at the Elphinstone Reef to a depth of 90 meters (295 feet), which is against the law. Diving deeper than 40 meters (131 feet) is not permitted in Egypt.

On Jan. 5, a Russian died while diving in the Red Sea off the popular resort of Dahab. Two days later, two other Russian divers and an Egyptian scuba diving instructor disappeared while exploring a coral reef near Marsa Alam. Another Russian was found dead Jan. 16 near the shore at Ras Mohammed, a resort on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula.

Fatal scuba diving accidents are not common in the Red Sea, where thousands of foreigners come annually to scuba dive because of the water's famous coral reefs.

http://www.pr-inside.com/egyptian-au...ch-r317957.htm

Kev Martin

It is always sad when we read about these occurrences but I find it very worrying that whenever we read about divers lost or drowned in the Red Sea just lately they always seem to be Russians.

It speaks volumes that these three divers were preparing themselves for a 90 metre (270") dive when they were lost.

Having dived extensively in the Red Sea over the last ten years, I would question the standard of training these three people had and also whether their experience level would have enabled them to undertake such a dive.

The fact that they would have been breaking the law also brings into question the attitude of the boat skipper and his divemasters. If it was reported that these guys were going to dive to 90 metres then it stands to reason that someone on the boat knew this. Why wasn't it stopped?

Unfortunately, one of the most breathtaking dive sites in the Red Sea is now becoming one with a high death count.

Safety, safety, safety!!!