Diver missing, another in decompression chamber

Tonio Anastasi

Nov 5th 2008, 10:34

About, the Xlendi or any other wrecks.
Wrecks are by their nature, potentially dangerous.
They are primarily an enclosed environment with no direct excess to the surface, subject to silting, loss of direction, disorientation and possible structural dangers, like falling debris due to the weakening of the structure.
The Xlendi is possibly all of these.
Wrecks should not be taken lightly and should be penetrated by those that have the experience and training to do so.
It is a cornerstone fo wreck diving that before penetrating the wreck one should familiarize.
Wreck penetration should always be done using a line and reel tied to the exit and that you should always carry and plan your air requirements with ample reserves of air.
This is something that ALL divers are thought and no amount of signage will prevent divers to stop using their heads.
Some wrecks like the P29, the Karwella, the Rozi, The Um El Faroud, Are types of wrecks whose exploration is quite safe as they are diver friendly with plenty of easy exits.
The Xlendi is not one of these and should only be penetrated by well experienced and wreck trained divers.

Tonio Anastasi

Nov 5th 2008, 10:11

Unfair criticism of the rescue services has been made on this page.
As a diver I would not want a better group of man and woman to come to my rescue should the need ever arise.
They are well prepared and trained to this, as some comments on this page have shown, for an ungrateful job.
The army and Civil Protection have always, always responded to the few diving incidents with prompt urgent and professional dedication.
Over the years they have earned a debt of gratitude from those divers in trouble, often in adverse conditions and at the risk of their lives.
They have risked their lives to rescue or recover divers who got in trouble, through their own stupidity, over confidence, bad planning, exceeding their abilities and sometimes just bad luck
If there is room for improvements these probably have always come about, after an incident report has been analyzed.
I would like to thank the Armed Forces and the Civil protection for ALWAYS having been there for us.

Ann Corkett

Nov 5th 2008, 02:17

It may well be down to individual divers to ensure that they have the skills necessary to successfully complete a dive. However it is down to the authorities who have ultimate responsibility for public dive sites to ensure that the sites are as safe as possible. The information board at Xatt l-ahmar car park is ambiguous and does not bear the same danger warnings that are apparently located by the wreck itself. For the sake of a few EUROS it ought to be possible to update this information board and to clearly spell out the danger .. If the authorities were willing to spend more maybe the now dangerous Xlendi ferry should be made safe.

M Debono

Nov 4th 2008, 21:54

This wreck seems to be too dangerous for divers and it should be closed off in a way that there is no access. I hope those responsible will take the necessary action before someone else gets hurt or we lose another life!!!!

stephen camilleri

Nov 4th 2008, 21:45

What i dont understand is why these divers split up in the first place,when you are diving in a wreck like the xlendi its very important to keep contact with the other divers that you are diving with,and in those closed spaces i dont know how they could have separated so far that they did not see the other diver wondering off and getting lost,this realy upsets me,yesterday i dived this wreck and can tell you its a very dangerous dive to do,mathew montebello knows who i am

Tonio Anastasi

Nov 4th 2008, 21:07

As a full time diving professional instructor of some 30years experience and some 12,000 logged dives I find it disconcerting on the speculation of this tragedy and lack of information regarding diving in Malta.
Diving accidents are very rare and are usually down to diver error but they do happen. Fatalities are rarer still.
Diving is a safe pass time, practiced by fallible human beings.
There are some 50,000 divers that visit the islands each year, doing an average of 5 dives each, giving a total of some 250,000 man dives,
This figure excludes those hundreds of Maltese divers that visit our sea each weekend.
Scuba diving injury statistics show it to be safer then walking the street, driving a car ( was it 1000 accidents a month from 300,000 registered cars.) 0r even playing soccer,
Fatalities are around 1 fatality per 100,000 dives (1990s)
One fatality is one too many and this is something that all divers avoid by simply following safe diving practices.
Diver training has its foundations based on safety. Its cornerstone is the prevention and avoidance of incidents.
Its philosophy is to relax for an hour enjoying the marine environment

R. Azzopardi

Nov 4th 2008, 14:43

@ Mr. Evans

Apparently the Xlendi landed on a slope when it was scuttled and it slipped down and flipped over some time after scuttling. I'm not too sure of the details since I was not a scuba diver yet at the time of the scuttling.

Steve Evans

Nov 4th 2008, 12:15

Wreck diving is in a class of its own and normaly requires special training. Having never dived the Xlendi, is it upright on the seabed, or did it roll over on sinking ? Fingers crossed at a positive outcome on this story.

Dino Galetovic

Nov 4th 2008, 11:34

Another sad day for the diving community . It no matters where divers have trained,nowadays diving IS a safe sport and the training standards are very much the same with different organizations.( wether in Malta or other countries )However,it is up to individuals to know their limitations. One could be the best diver in the world,and yet,you make one mistake or the unexpected happens and that's it. As for the xlendi wreck,it is very clearly marked with a danger sign as it has got worse over the years and because it lies upside down ,deterioration of the inside of the wreck is very rapid .
It is about time that once again,permits to dive unacompanied in Malta/Gozo are brought back,and only individuals with the correct qualifications are to be given it,at a price. As for the other fatalities of the past few weeks,please ,do not make assumptions as to the causes. They are all individual cases and wether we knew the victims or not,we are still a unique fraternity and the sea is our link.Respect !
My thoughts are with the families in this hour of need.

Patrick Meli

Nov 4th 2008, 09:54

Mr Peco, I think you might be confusing divers with snorkellers.

There are standards in diving and recent local legislation has put Malta up there with most European countries standards-wise. However, at the end of the day, it is down with the individual divers to abide by these standards and their training. it is up to the individual diver to ascertain that he or she does not dive beyond the limits covered by the training that they have received.

One would be loathe to comment about any situation without facts at hand, however diving alone is a definite big no-no and should be avoided at all costs.

Simon Alden

Nov 4th 2008, 09:30

I can assure anyone reading this article that standards of diving and indeed of instruction in Malta are very high. Notwithstanding this, accidents do happen, and diving by its nature exposes divers to a certain amount of risk. Statistically the risk isnt particularly significant when compared to other sports or activities precisely because the sport is so well regulated and equipment is to such a high standard. Nevertheless, people make mistakes and sometimes take risks, and a similar event such as this will happen. Before passing judgement on the divers one should wait and see exactly what happened to cause this accident. With regard to the "orange buoy" mentioned, scuba divers do NOT tow a buoy behind them while diving as "skin" divers do (ie. without tanks), scuba divers have what are called delayed surface marker buoys which they send up to the surface to indicate their position while they are decompressing. I look forward to hearing further details about what happened exactly in this case to cause this incident.

John Lauri

Nov 4th 2008, 00:23

Claudia : Divers are not required to use the orange float you mentioned. It is an optional piece of equipment, used to warn boats of divers underwater in the area and shortly resurfacing, in order for such boats to steer clear of such immediate vicinity. This is meant to prevent serious injury / accidental death to divers as they are surfacing in the area. In other words : Orange float = divers underwater in the vicinity and on the way back up , boats please note and avoid the area.

The float is normally only inflated underwater and sent to the surface towards the end of the dive, shortly before the diver starts his ascent and decompression stops on the way back to the surface and not during the dive, as this can be hazardous to the diver, if he has the float attached to him and inflated during the dive.

Daphne Caruana Galizia

Nov 4th 2008, 00:20

It's actually the fourth dive-related death in just a few months - there was another one shortly before Damien Schembri.

Keith Fenech

Nov 4th 2008, 00:04

The Xlendi itself is not any more dangerous than the Um-El-Faroud. Diving safety is in the hands of the diver who plans and executes the dive. Entering a wreck is obviously riskier than diving around the outside, however given the right experience, equipment and proper dive plans, one can reduce or eliminate such risks.

"One wonders what standards are in force these days in Malta..."
Diving accidents can be caused by a multitude of factors including unexpected scenarios, human mistakes and diver health issues. I am in no way indicating that these divers ignored any safety procedures, however I find it very unfair to blame authorities about such accidents.

Just like other countries, in Malta you can only hire scuba equipment if you possess a valid international certificate (such as PADI /BSAC/CMAS). I have been diving Maltese & international waters for 13 years and I can assure you that the authorities cannot control how a diver acts underwater. Just like with any sport, pushing the limits will increase risks. This is not about diving schools, these are independent divers diving under their own judgement. So yes, another unfortunate accident but let's not play the 'whose to blame' game.

Alan Coode

Nov 3rd 2008, 23:45

We witnessed the attempted rescue this morning and although there were emergency services available no one was there who seemed to be able to go into the water to save the missing diver. The only people kitted up appeared to be the mates of the diver missing. Why is there not a dive team available for emergencies like this. In fairness we were not party to what was happening on the rescue boat but judging from the fact that another diver in the party has appeared to be injured a professional team would have been most useful. I understood that other divers on the island often help out in situations such as this, good as that is it is still relying on availability and chance. As diving is so important to Gozo's economy more exact procedures are desperately needed to help out in situations such as these. The police were very professional but what could they do without the appropriate facilities or resources, emergencies services should be given the chance to be effective. I do appreciate that we were powerless observers and were caught up in the emotion of the situation and our observations might contain inaccuracies.

Keith Fenech

Nov 3rd 2008, 23:33

"Aren't divers supposed to have an orange float..."
Not really: Although these floats are sometimes used for shallow diving, with most of the dives, especially wreck dives, it becomes very unconvenient and also dangerous to drag around a float with a 30 metre rope leading to the surface. Therefore most divers worldwide nowadays just carry an emergency inflatable float which is stored in a pocket and only inflated before ascending to the surface, whenever necessary.

Matthew Montebello

Nov 3rd 2008, 22:55

I would like to point out three issues to reply to Joe Sammut's concerns ... apart from clarifying that the float Claudia Peco mentions is not locally used by divers but by apnea fishermen.
1. Luck has nothing to do with diving. These guys might have trusted their luck, but when diving beyond recreational a diver requires training, discipline and the right attitude.
2. There are no enforced standards in Malta. Anybody who is possession of tank and a mask can dive. Use of local divemasters should be legalised and enforced to guide divers anywhere around our shores. Apart from increasing security, such a legislation would provide employment for professionals in the diving industry.
3. The Xlendi wreck is far more dangerous than the UmElFaroud scuttled at Wied iz-Zurrieq as the former lies upside down on the sand with rusting material falling within it all over the place, creating deadly traps for the untrained diver.
Only the second diver can shed light on what happened but the chances of locating the lost diver alive have been drastically reduced. Locally trained rescue technical divers should be employed as early as possible.

Ivan Tabone

Nov 3rd 2008, 22:40

@Claudia Peco

Yes divers are meant to carry an SMB (Surface Marker Buoy) showing where they are, BUT, the buoy is not meant to be tied to the diver for fear of getting tangled with rocks or objects. If an emergency happens, usualy the first thing that is let go of is the buoy so you can never find a missing diver unless the buoy is tied to his body (against the regulations).

@Joe Sammut

As regards standards, I don't think that this has anything to do with standards. Every diver is a human being and every human being is physically and mentally different from one day to another. Divers must remember that they are in a different environment from their usual habitat (land) and thus a lot of elements are against them. Physics play an important role in the rules of diving as compressed air (oxygen and nitrogen) acts differently when inhaled under pressure. As with all licences whether driving licences, fireworks, fire arms, diving etc etc, the holder must obey all the rules if he does not want to get hurt or hurt others.

Michael Vella

Nov 3rd 2008, 18:53

@ Mr Sammut

From your comments it seems you are talking about a subject you have very limited knowledge about. Maltese standards are the same as those imposed around the world...and are strictly enforced by diving schools. Diving is a relatively safe sport, however these kind of accidents can happen and unfortunately will happen again in future. The Xlendi dive is not the easiest of dives due to the depth of the wreck...

I am not sure about the circumstances surrounding the Franch diver's dissappearance, all i can say is that i sympathise with the diver's family and find it distasteful to insinuate he had no sense when he is not here to defend himself or explain the circumstances surrounding his tragic loss. Rules state that a diver must always be accompanied by a buddy and IF he made the mistake of not doing so, he unfortunately appears to have paid the ultimate price, but there is no need to rub salt in the wounds of the people he left behind.

My thoughts are with the family of both divers and rescuers and i hope that this will accident will not result in any tragic casualties.

C Buttigieg

Nov 3rd 2008, 18:46

The Xlendi is classed as a deep sports dive as it is within the 40 meter limits. As everyone knows diving has it's risks, no matter what depth it's at. However, things do go wrong even when the diver takes all the necessary precautions. Equipment failure, stress due to strong currents, physical condition and many other sometimes unforseen circumstances can turn a wonderful event into a tragedy. I have been diving with a lot of the schools in Malta and always found them to be run by highly skilled professionals who are very cautious while also making the dives fun and memorable, they are a business after all and are always after repeat customers. In Sports diving the Buddy system is used where divers pair up so that there is always assistance at hand when things go wrong. This is always part of the training to get your Diving certification which is a must worldwide if you want to go diving to those depths.
As for the French diver that is missing, his was a technical dive (Sometimes below 100 meters) so the Buddy system does not apply.

Mark Zammit

Nov 3rd 2008, 16:58

@Joe Sammut

I do not think that either the French nor the Brits trained in Malta ... so whatever standards, where used by the divers themselves.

If on the other hand you are implying that those that rented out equipment or filled tanks did not verify acceptable licences then I seriously doubt that. Never met anybody that irresponsible who dived with substandard training nor were allowed to do so by Maltese Club owners.

So please unless you know what you are talking about refrain from such comments.

Dr. Kevin Mompalao

Nov 3rd 2008, 16:23

Another sad story, which will propably pass adrift with the others. All these diving tragedies call for more stringent regulation of diving school licences and recogniton of instructors' foreign licences. It is noted that sometimes instructors (most of them foreign) could be classified as children with few diving hours and bare qualifications. This should not be the case with a hobby which could be regarded as dangerous. Some serious action or address is called for.

Steven Kik

Nov 3rd 2008, 16:19

Diving is a very safe sports activity, enjoyed by millions around the world.

Both the sport, as the schools, are well regulated by international standards, so please let's await investigations before making any big accusations.

Anybody diving the "Xlendi" knows her depth and potentially hazardous circumstances and is normally only done by experienced wreck divers.

Chris Finch

Nov 3rd 2008, 16:15

@Joe.
Are you a diver?
Malta has very strict diver safety standards that all dive centres have to follow. However, once a diver or pair of divers enter the water, no amount of standards can control individual actions. It is a proven fact that most diving incidents are down to diver error.

Malta has an excellent safety record when compared to other places around the world. And diving is much safer than a lot of other sports, however when a diver dies, it makes headlines. More people die on our roads every year. So lets not have any knee jerk reactions.

Claudia Peco

Nov 3rd 2008, 16:05

Aren't divers supposed to have an orange float to show where they are in the seas?

Joe Sammut

Nov 3rd 2008, 15:04

This might well be the third diving fatality in the short space of time after the missing French diver in Gozo, and the sudden death of notary Dr. Damien Von Schembri.

Something is not up to scratch, standards wise, or else these chaps are plain unlucky.

At least, this Brit diver had the sense to go down with a buddy, unlike the Frenchman.

One wonders what standards are in force these days in Malta, if they are up to date and comparable to those abroad.

Is diving on the Xlendi any more dangerous than the Um El-Farroud off Wied iz-Zurrieq?