The bodies of two Italian divers recovered off the coast of Sicily last week have revealed a stark discrepancy in safety equipment compared to British standards. Autopsies confirmed the victims, both experienced technical divers, were using rebreathers that lacked critical redundancy features mandated for similar dives in UK waters. The incident has reignited debate over international maritime safety protocols and the enforcement of equipment regulations.
Dr. Elena Rossi, a diving safety consultant with the International Diving Schools Association, stated that the configuration of the divers' closed-circuit rebreathers would have been 'non-compliant' under the UK's strict Health and Safety Executive guidelines. 'The UK requires at least two independent oxygen sensors and a manual bypass valve for dives beyond 30 metres. The equipment recovered from the scene had only one sensor and no backup,' explained Rossi.
The British system, governed by the Diving at Work Regulations 1997, is considered among the world's most rigorous. It mandates regular equipment inspections, documented risk assessments, and specific gas management protocols. In contrast, Italian regulations, while aligned with European Union directives, allow for more discretion in equipment choices for recreational and technical diving.
A former Royal Navy diver who reviewed the incident for the BBC noted that the absence of a secondary oxygen supply likely led to hypoxia. 'If the primary cell fails at depth, you have seconds to react. Without a backup, your chance of survival drops exponentially,' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has not commented on the case but reaffirmed its commitment to 'evidence-based safety standards.' The agency recently updated its guidance for rebreather divers following a 2019 review that found 60% of diving fatalities involved equipment failures or user error.
While the exact cause of death awaits toxicology reports, early indications suggest the divers were attempting to recover a lost anchor from a shipwreck at 70 metres. Decompression sickness and oxygen toxicity are also being considered. Friends of the deceased have launched a petition calling for EU-wide harmonisation of diving equipment standards, arguing that such tragedies are preventable.
Critics, however, warn that uniform regulations may not account for local conditions. 'In the Mediterranean, visibility and currents differ greatly from the Atlantic. Should a dive shop in Sicily be required to stock the same gear as one in Scotland?' asked Marco Bianchi, president of the Italian Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association.
The tragedy echoes a 2018 incident off the coast of Cornwall, where a British diver died using a similar rebreather setup. That case prompted the UK's stringent sensor mandates. Now, with two more lives lost, the question remains: will the rest of Europe follow Britain's lead?
As the scientific community often states, risk is a product of probability and consequence. Here, the probability of equipment failure was low, but the consequence absolute. The UK model, while perhaps burdensome for small operators, has demonstrably reduced fatality rates in commercial diving. For recreational divers, the balance between freedom and safety grows more urgent with each loss. The data are clear: redundancy saves lives. The question is whether the diving world is willing to accept the weight of that evidence.
