This morning (2nd December) our guests went as usual to Elphinstone Reef, a world-class reef renowned for it’s beautiful drop-offs, corals, marine life and in particular its pelagic marine life. One of the main aims of visiting Elphinstone for many divers is to see sharks, and it is famous for encounters with the Oceanic White Tip shark (Carcharhinus Longimanus). Thousands of divers have dived with this species of shark every year, mostly without incident. Unfortunately during the dive this morning, for reasons we are still trying to find out, one of our guests was lightly bitten by an Oceanic White Tip at the back of the left arm. Our dive guide immediately went to assist her and she and her buddy ascended to the speedboat which was already waiting directly above the divers. Our dive guide then brought the rest of the divers together to ascend to the boat to safely exit the water. The diver was given first aid treatment on a nearby Safari boat. She was brought immediately back to Marsa Shagra where the waiting car took her to our on-site medical clinic to be treated for two wounds with stitches. The guest is now back in Marsa Shagra and the authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.
For all those considering diving with sharks, we would like to assure you that incidents such as this are incredibly rare but correct procedures should always be followed in order to minimise the chances of an incident occurring.
- Learn how to behave should you be lucky enough to encounter a shark. Don’t flap your arms, maintain good buoyancy, remain calm and try to stay in a vertical position within a group. Do not linger at the surface and do not separate yourself from the group.
- Dive with a responsible operator who gives you a full briefing about the dive and behaviour around sharks, and makes you aware of all safety procedures. If you are unsure then ask your dive guide for more clarification and information.
- Be alert while underwater - always face the shark and keep your eye on it, and do not turn your back on the shark. Watch the actions of the other divers in your group to have an indication of where the shark is and how it is behaving.
- Follow the direction of your dive guide at all times.
- Respect local rules concerning certification levels and minimum experience levels to visit certain dive sites - this is there to keep you safe.
- If you feel uncomfortable for any reason at any time, communicate to your dive guide so they can help you.
- Know when it’s time to leave - encounters with sharks are, for the most part, absolutely wonderful but learning how to read the signs of when we have overstayed our welcome can help to avoid an incident.
We would like to repeat that encounters with sharks are almost always without incident. We must accept that as humans we are entering their territory and there are risks involved with encounters with wild animals. We can reduce those risks by behaving appropriately but accidents can still happen. Please report any incidents such as fishing, dumping of waste at sea etc. to the relevant authorities as this can have a huge impact on the behaviour of our marine life, which might put divers in danger. We wish that many more divers in future will be able to experience these beautiful creatures safely in their natural environment.
We would like to extend our thanks to our skipper Captain Fezo, our dive guide Mohammed Ezz, our Doctor Hossam Nassef at Baromedical chamber and to Ocean Window safari boat for their assistance, and of course the whole RSDS team for handling the situation.
