A British scuba diver has died while diving near Rasdhoo island in the Maldives. The diver, reported to be a 46-year-old man, is said to have drowned while diving at the popular Hammerhead Shark Point on the morning of Monday, 13 March.
In a separate incident, a 65-year-old man has also been reported as having drowned on Tuesday morning, while swimming in a nearby location.
Both men, who have not been named, were reportedly taken to hospital, but both were pronounced dead on arrival.
Rasdhoo is a popular destination for shark spotting – strong currents between the North Ari – also known as Alif Alif – atoll’s islands provide a perfect place for sharks to rest, and several species, including white-tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and scalloped hammerheads often gather in numbers.
Dives are best conducted early in the morning, and usually require a descent to 20-30 metres, often in strong currents, to best view the gathering sharks.
Despite tabloid media headlines that the men died ‘in shark-infested waters’, there is no evidence that sharks were involved in either of the fatalities. None of the aforementioned species is dangerous to humans.
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