Four die after panic set in during scuba dive at popular Italian resort

Marco Sebastiani, one of four other divers who survived the tragedy said he
realised something was wrong when he saw their guide showing signs of
agitation, but at that point it was too late.

“We suddenly found ourselves in a blind tunnel. We couldn’t see anything.
At that point it was panic. The agitation of the least experienced took
hold. Mud and sand came up from the bottom of the cave and visibility was
gone,” Mr Sebastiani told Il Messaggero newspaper.

“At a certain point I managed to find my way. I took as many people as I
could with me and we swam towards the light, which grew bigger all the time.
When I came up, I looked around to count us and I realised that Susy,
Andrea, Douglas and Panos weren’t there.”

Roberto Navarra, the diving school owner who provided the group’s equipment,
confirmed yesterday (Sunday) that four of the group had swum into the wrong
tunnel.

“It’s an easy cave but there is a dangerous tunnel that people never use.
Four people swam into that channel,” Mr Navarra told reporters.

He said he had tried repeatedly to save the missing divers but “the
visibility was terrible. You could see nothing”.

Mr Navarra said the group was correctly equipped and carried torches. “Unfortunately
there was not one, but an incredible series of negative circumstances. Now
we are all shocked and saddened.”

Valter Ciociano, an expert diver from nearby Marina di Camerota, said many of
the 35 underwater caves that draw divers to the area have muddy bottoms. “Often
when you go in, the water is clear and you don’t notice that your flippers
are muddying the water behind you, creating what seems an impenetrable wall.
On these occasions it’s panic that rules the day.”

The underwater caves do sometimes contain small air pockets under the roof,
but experts say they are no guarantee of safety. In many cases the air would
not be breathable because of the presence of poisonous hydrogen sulphide
fumes.

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