自由潛水意外

六月七號進行七十米深的無限制潛水，Adel在底部成功啟動了上升裝置，但沒有和上升裝置一起回到水面，位於水深三四十米的安全人員也不見他的蹤影...........

好幾天前的新聞，我卻一直到今天早上才從自己的RSS裡注意到，詳細的事發經過還得要到國外自潛論壇裡爬文，底下這篇是AIDA對此事所發出的正式官方聲明，除了哀痛的表示失去這位好夥伴，只有簡單的敘述事發的過程。

在此對這位勇敢的自由潛水者，深河部落格致上最高的敬意：

爾等勇氣、熱情，波瀾壯闊如海，就讓我們穿越國界地理、陰陽生死與大海同在。

It is with deepest regret that AIDA notes the loss of one of its members, Adel Abu Haliqa.  Adel was a frequent competitor, and represented the United Arab Emirates at the 2009 Depth World Championships.  Adel was in Greece training for national record attempts in several depth disciplines, including no limits.

On 7 June, during a 70m no-limits training dive, Adel appears to have released his safety lanyard at depth, opened the tank valve to fill the lift bag, and then separated from the sled.  The sled surfaced without the diver.  Safety divers (in the 30-40m range) were unable to locate Adel; one variable weight dive to approximately 75m also failed to locate the diver.  Prior to the dive, a safety diver verified that Adel had attached the lanyard to the line above the sled.  What caused the diver to become separated from the sled remains unclear.  The Greek Coast Guard was immediately notified, and commenced search operations, but was unable to locate Adel.

Those that were fortunate enough to have known Adel knew him for his courtesy, his faith, and his friendship.  In addition to training, teaching and competing, Adel also worked to develop the sport of freediving in his home country, the UAE:  Adel was co-founder of AIDA UAE, and the primary mover behind its obtaining AIDA Observer member status this year.  An AIDA Instructor, Adel taught courses in the Emirates, and arranged specialist courses for divers there.

AIDA would like to pass its best wishes to Adel’s family in this difficult time, and to thank Adel for generously donating his time and efforts for the development of freediving in the Emirates, a country with a long and rich tradition of freediving (dating back thousands of years with traditional pearl divers).

Adel is survived by his wife Nada, his sons Mohammed (10) and Ali (4), and his daughter Amna (8).  Adel’s brother Hussain (with other family members) remains in Santorini to coordinate search operations, and have stated that he and his family have faith that Adel may still return to them safely.

On Behalf of Aida Board,

Kimmo Lahtinen
AIDA, president