Why is the Blue Hole in Dahab so dangerous?
The Blue Hole is dangerous mainly for divers who go far beyond recreational limits: most of its fatalities are linked to attempts to reach or swim through the Arch, a tunnel whose top lies around 55 m down. A guided recreational dive that stays at 30 m or shallower and never goes near the Arch is a calm, well-known shore dive.
The short answer
The danger at the Blue Hole is depth, not the site itself. The sinkhole drops to roughly 100 m or more right next to the shore, and an opening in its seaward wall, the Arch, sits well below the 40 m limit of recreational diving.
Divers who stay shallow swim along a colourful reef wall in usually gentle conditions. Divers who chase the Arch on ordinary air enter a depth range where judgement, gas supply and buoyancy control can all fail at once, often without the diver noticing in time.
How deep is the Blue Hole, and where is the Arch?
The Blue Hole is a little over 100 m deep, with the seabed beyond the Arch reported at around 120 m. Different sources give the maximum depth anywhere from about 100 to 130 m, because the hole and the outer slope merge into each other.
The Arch is a tunnel about 26 m long that links the hole to the open sea. Its top (the ceiling) is usually given as about 55 m, with published figures ranging from roughly 52 to 56 m. On the shallow side, a gap in the rim called the saddle sits at about 6–7 m, and this is where recreational divers cross into the hole.
See the full Blue Hole dive site guide and map →
Why the Arch causes most accidents
The Arch is a technical dive, and the risks that make it dangerous on air are well understood. At 50 m and deeper, nitrogen narcosis can feel like heavy intoxication: divers misread gauges, lose track of time and depth, or simply keep descending.
Gas use is the second problem. At 55 m you breathe air more than six times faster than at the surface, so a single recreational tank empties quickly, and a deep dive also needs long decompression stops on the way up. Inside the hole there is no seabed for reference, which makes it easy to sink deeper than planned.
Divers who do the Arch properly train for it, use helium-based gas mixes and redundant equipment, and plan decompression. That is a different sport from a holiday fun dive.
How many people have died in the Blue Hole?
Nobody keeps an official, public count, so estimates vary widely. Figures cited in published sources range from at least 40 divers to as many as 200. Local technical diver and body recoverer Tarek Omar estimated in 2012 that more than 130 divers had died there over the previous 15 years.
Some counts may also include snorkellers and freedivers, not only scuba divers. What the reports agree on is the pattern: the great majority of deaths involved deep dives well below recreational limits, not divers following the reef wall at 20–30 m.
The most widely reported case is Yuri Lipski, a 22-year-old diving instructor who died in April 2000 during a deep dive in the hole. His own camera recorded the uncontrolled descent, and his body was later recovered from about 115 m. It has become a well-known lesson in how fast depth and narcosis can overwhelm even a trained diver.
The memorial plaques on the shore
Along the rocks near the Blue Hole entry there are memorial plaques placed by families and friends of divers who died there. This is why the site is sometimes called the divers’ cemetery, although nobody is buried there.
Most visitors pass the plaques on the way into the water. Please treat them as a memorial: walk around them respectfully and keep photos discreet.
How a recreational Blue Hole dive stays safe
A safe Blue Hole dive has a fixed maximum depth of 30 m and never goes near the Arch. The classic plan starts at The Bells, a narrow chimney about 200 m north of the Blue Hole, drops to around 26–28 m, then follows the outer wall south while slowly rising to the saddle at about 6–7 m and into the hole.
Before that, I plan a check dive in town if you have not dived recently, agree turn pressures, and brief the depth limit clearly. Over 100 m of open blue water makes depth hard to judge, so we watch our computers all the time and stay close to the wall.
💬 Ask me about your first Blue Hole dive
Can beginners dive the Blue Hole?
Yes, Open Water divers can dive the Blue Hole on a shallow plan. Entering straight from the shore and exploring the rim and saddle area within 18 m is a relaxed dive, and the inner walls are full of corals and anthias.
The Bells route down to about 27 m suits Advanced Open Water divers or anyone certified to 30 m. If you are newly certified, a first dive at Lighthouse helps you settle your weighting and buoyancy before the Blue Hole.
Are there sharks in the Blue Hole?
Sharks are rarely seen at the Blue Hole and are not a safety concern on normal recreational dives. The fish you are more likely to meet are Napoleon wrasse, lionfish, scorpionfish, anthias, and sometimes tuna or barracuda out in the blue.
The real hazards to respect are depth, busy surface traffic from snorkellers and freedivers, and your own air supply.
Dive it with a guide who knows the site
Most Blue Hole problems are planning problems, so a clear plan with a local guide removes most of the risk. I am a PADI and SSI dive instructor based in Dahab, and I dive the Blue Hole and The Bells regularly, within recreational limits.
Tell me your certification, your number of dives and when you last dived, and I will suggest the right route for you.
Questions
Why is the Blue Hole in Dahab so dangerous?
Because the hole is over 100 m deep right next to the shore, and the Arch tunnel lies at about 55 m. Most fatalities happened to divers attempting deep or Arch dives on air, beyond recreational limits.
How many divers have died in the Blue Hole Dahab?
There is no official public count. Published estimates range from at least 40 to as many as 200, and one local recovery diver estimated more than 130 deaths between about 1997 and 2012.
How deep is the Arch in the Blue Hole?
The top of the Arch is usually given as about 55 m, with sources ranging from roughly 52 to 56 m. The tunnel is about 26 m long and is a technical dive only.
Is the Blue Hole safe for recreational divers?
Yes, when you stay at 30 m or shallower, never go near the Arch, and follow a guided plan such as The Bells to the Blue Hole. This is the route most guided Blue Hole dives follow.
Can beginners dive the Blue Hole in Dahab?
Yes. Open Water divers can explore the rim and saddle within 18 m. The Bells route to about 27 m is better for Advanced divers.
Are there sharks in the Blue Hole Dahab?
Shark sightings at the Blue Hole are rare and are not considered a danger to divers. The main risks there are depth and gas planning.
What is the divers’ cemetery in Dahab?
It is a nickname for the Blue Hole, after the memorial plaques for divers who died there that line the rocks near the entry. Nobody is buried at the site.