Rob Palmer, veteran cave diver and technical diving pioneer, failed to return from an open circuit pleasure dive at a wall off Gifton Island in the Red Sea on May 5th 1997. A search was immediately conducted but after 5 hours was discontinued and Rob is presumed dead. There has been a great deal of inaccurate speculation and incorrect information circulating about the tragic accident. The following is a compilation of the official dive reports and observations of those who witnessed the events.
The facts are that several divers, including Robert Palmer, made a recreational dive on the wall at Gifton Reef in Hurghada Egypt. All of the equipment Rob was diving on was borrowed as his personal gear had been lost in transit by the airlines en route to Egypt. Rob was diving on air using dual independent 200 bar 12l steel cylinders strapped together and not banded as no manifolded twins were available. He had a single stage bottle of 50/50 Nitrox for decompressing, as did all the other divers. Rob was using a twin bladder tech BCD, which was in good condition, along with the rest of his equipment. (Bad air is not considered to be a likely issue as all other divers were diving from the same air source that day and for the remainder of the week).
All the divers checked their equipment before entering the water. It was all functioning satisfactorily. Rob's dive buddies were all highly qualified Technical Instructors and all capable and experienced in "deep" diving. The plan was to keep in visual contact as they dived the wall. Three of the team entered the water from the day boat which they were using and then swam on the surface to the wall, intending to descend down its face. Rob entered from the boat and immediately began to descend. One of the divers got a signal from Rob when he was at or about 50m. At that point he appeared to still be in control, but was descending fast. Suspecting he might be experiencing a problem, they descended after him but were unable to reach him. The first buddy team aborted their descent at 75m and the second at approximately 95m in the interests of their own safety when it became obvious they had no hope of reaching him and that to continue would only compound the tragedy unfolding before their eyes.
A surface search pattern was run for approximately 5 hours after Rob failed to return to the boat at the end of the dive. It is likely his body is resting at 1,000m and will never be recovered so the exact circumstances of his death will remain a mystery. The local Egyptian police conducted a brief investigation to ascertain the facts of Rob's disappearance. All of the divers on the boat were in Hurghada to attend TDI's first International Conference, though it should be noted that the dives were not a part of the conference but were arranged on the side. Rob Palmer appeared fit and well. He had been instructing in the area for a week or so prior and was acclimatised and also well rested from the original flight to Egypt. He had spent the previous week on a liveaboard in the Red Sea instructing in the use and maintenance of rebreathers. Tim Breen, a diving Instructor in Hurghada and one of Rob Palmer's companions that day, said he realised something had gone wrong the instant his friend hit the water. "He just dropped into the depths. We swam down after him and tried to halt his descent and pull him back to the surface. He was falling at quite a rate and we were all having trouble keeping up with him". "We have all been trained not to attempt to rescue someone unless we are in a position to do so without endangering our lives", he continued. "At 70 or 80m, I pulled back. The other two went down further before coming up. " "There was nothing we could do", Tim said, "We just had to watch Rob sink into the blackness."
Rob Palmer was a widely published author of several popular books on cave and technical diving, as well as over 200 magazine articles. He was a member of the Explorer's Club, an instructor for the British Cave Diving Group, founder of the Bahamas Blue Holes Foundation and a Director of TDI Europe. He was considered one of the world's top cave divers and a leading diving educator. His most adventurous dives were undertaken in the 1980s when he lived in Bristol, working as a schoolteacher. In 1982, he made a record 2,700 feet journey through the Blue Holes of Andros Island, off the Bahamas. He filmed the dive and wrote of it in his book, Deep Into Blue Holes. He had also conducted record-breaking dives in underground cave systems, journeying 700 feet below Wookey Hole and Cheddar and into a lost network thought to extend 30 miles under the Mendip Hills. In recent years, Rob had given up his more dangerous expeditions and moved to the Bahamas with his wife Stefanie. He was concentrating on teaching and writing. The worldwide diving community mourns his loss. Rob was well known locally having visited Sydney twice in the last 4 years. The first visit was in 1993 to help members of SUSS formalise their Sump Diver qualifications. Rob held a week long training camp at Jenolan Caves, and today many of those trained continue to explore the depths of Jenolan and other local caves. In 1994 Rob returned, again involved with the local NSW cave divers, but also to help train and establish TDI (Australasia). All who have known Rob have been touched by his sincerity, warmth and unassuming manner. He will be missed by his many friends in Australia. Thanks go to TDI Middle East, Divers Lodge Hurghada, TDI Headquarters and Chris Parrett (Abysmal Diving) for their assistance in this report. Our sympathies and condolences are extended to his widow, family and friends worldwide.