Pedro, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

The Blue Hole is a diving location on the southeast Sinai, a few kilometres north of Dahab, Egypt on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba within the Red Sea. The Blue Hole is a blue hole, with a maximum depth within the hole of just over 100 m (330 ft). There is a shallow opening to the sea around 6 m (20 ft) deep, known as "the saddle", and a 26 m (85 ft) long tunnel, known as "the Arch", whose ceiling is at a depth of 55 m (180 ft) and whose bottom falls away as it reaches the seaward side to about 120 m (390 ft). On the seaward side the floor drops steeply to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The hole and the surrounding area have an abundance of coral and reef fish. The Blue Hole is popular for freediving because of the depth directly accessible from shore and the lack of current. The dive site is reputed to have the most diver fatalities in the world. Tarek Omar, a technical diver from Dahab who has recovered bodies from the hole, estimated in 2012 that more than 130 divers lost their lives in the hole in the preceding 15 years.