Three diving related deaths occurred in one single day a couple of weeks ago, in a day dubbed a ‘black’ one for Gozo. There have been 10 diving related deaths in Malta and Gozo since 2008.

As soon as diving deaths are mentioned, people automatically assume that diving is a dangerous activity and that the divers had done something ‘stupid’. But for those who are familiar with the sport, other factors immediately surface.

The first of these is the most fundamental thing that divers learn. It might sound cliché, but the mantra is “plan your dive, dive your plan”. Essentially, it means that divers should make a detailed plan of what they are going to do and where they are going to go when planning a dive. And once that is decided, they should not deviate. It has happened before. Divers have died when they planned a dive and then deviated when they decided to explore a cave. They ran out of air after the cave silted up and they could not find their way out.  And this is where the fundamentals lie – if the divers had stuck to their original plan, the terrible accident would not have occurred.

Another issue at stake is that although divers may be experienced – in terms of having 30 or more dives under their belt – they would not have specific knowledge of a site here in Malta and might lose their way or miscalculate distances and/or decompression requirements while making a gradual ascent.

This can lead to complications. By right, qualified divers can simply present their certification and rent tanks and equipment from any dive centre. But it is then up to the dive centre itself to evaluate whether or not a group is competent enough to navigate to a site, find their way back, conclude a safe five minute safety stop or decompression period underwater and generally be sage.

The third and perhaps most important issue is that diving deaths are often caused by underlying medical conditions, mostly coronary and others related to circulation and general poor health. Diving can be quite a strenuous activity, and if it triggers – for example – a heart attack, the situation is very different underwater. A diver’s performance and body reactions to the underwater conditions can also be influenced by mood, prescription drugs, the length of time since one has taken the plunge and a plethora of other contributing factors. Up to 2003, diving clubs had to ask for a medical certificate from the prospective diver to be allowed to rent equipment, but this stipulation has now gone. It is of no coincidence that a substantial amount of divers who find themselves in difficulty are mostly in their mid-40s and up over. Perhaps it’s time to tighten up regulation, without causing harm to the industry, which does contribute to our tourism product and our economy.