Translated material
Dive with the sharks
There were no perpetrators of the disappearance of Russians in Egypt
Strong winds yesterday prevented the use of aircraft to search for Russian diving tourists who disappeared in the Red Sea near the Egyptian town of Marsa Allam, which is 300 km from the resort of Hurghada and 800 km from Cairo. But, despite the stormy conditions, the local governor, Abu Bakr al-Rashidi, expanded the scope of the rescue operation, involving coast guard boats and volunteers from the national Divers Association. The head of the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Egypt, Bashir Malsagov, told Vremya Novostey about this by telephone.They are looking not only for 25-year-old Elena Sundukova and 27-year-old Dmitry Kapitonov, but also for a tourist from Holland and an Egyptian instructor who disappeared with them. In total, there were five people in the group of divers who dived in the area of the Elphinstone Reef, or Shaab Marganiya, on Christmas Eve, January 6th. A few hours later, 25-year-old Vladislav Lukyanchenko was found in a state of shock on the shore, 15 km from the scene of the incident. At the hospital, he said the divers were at a depth of 50 meters when a trainer warned them about the danger of approaching sharks. The high wave that had arisen by this time prevented the scuba divers from returning to the waiting ship and sending a distress signal. The fact is that the Russians went to sea in tolerable weather, but overnight it deteriorated sharply, and the storm continues to this day. Unexpected storms are common in the Red Sea at this time of year.
The chances of saving the missing are getting less and less. Divers could become victims of longtip sharks swimming from the Indian Ocean, the size of which exceeds 3.5 meters. Divers could also be killed by strong underwater currents or decompression sickness that occurs during a rapid ascent. According to Mr. Malsagov, in this place the bottom drops sharply down a hundred meters. Nevertheless, the Russian Embassy insists on continuing intensive searches and in this sense finds the full support of Governor al-Rashidi. He also ordered a thorough investigation into the work of the Beach Safari diving center, which organized the excursion for the missing scuba divers. The Egyptian prosecutor's office said yesterday that it did not find any crime in Beach Safari's actions.
In recent days, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the death of two other of our compatriots in the Red Sea already in the new year. 39-year-old Igor Gulkov, who drowned near Hurghada, swam in the coastal strip, equipped only with a mask and a breathing tube. On the Sinai Peninsula, not far from the resort of Dahab on the same Red Sea, 28-year-old Alexey Borisov, according to the Russian Embassy, got lost under water, falling behind a group of scuba divers, and died.
Consul Malsagov reminded VN readers that diving remains an extreme, and therefore dangerous, activity that should be abandoned at the slightest deterioration in the weather.