Attempt to break world record for mass scuba dive in Hurghada, Egypt

It seems that the race is one to break the Guinness World Record for a mass scuba dive after announcements were made by a British diver and a Egyptian group who will both be attempting to get at least 3,000 divers in the water at the same time on two different occasions.

Last week, British scuba diving expert Jason Haiseldon announced that he is trying to organise a mass diving event in Purbeck in September and is looking to get 3,000 divers to take part in the event which will also raise money for charities.

This week it was revealed that the Egyptian Divers Syndicate and the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) are also attempting to break the current world record for a mass scuba dive in Hurghada.

The Indonesian Navy set the current world record by successfully coordinating 2,486 scuba divers in the water the same time in 2009. Hurghada is one of the most popular destinations for scuba diving holidays and offers warm crystal clear waters and an array of marine species including sharks.

Scuba diving in Egypt's Red Sea is one of the most popular activities during holidays because of the Red Sea rich marine ecosystem. When it came to choosing from the many diving sites in Hurghada, organisers of the Egypt Scuba Challenge were left with one main option.

"We have been looking for a spot that is suitable to hold such a huge amount of divers without any detrimental effect on the environment and have agreed on the outside area of the New Marina in Hurghada," explained a spokesperson from HEPCA.

"This location has a large sandy plateau at 12-13m depth, which is capable of holding 3000 scuba divers. There is hardly any marine life there, but plenty of rubbish.

"For this reason we do not only want to break the world record for the largest collective dive, but also the world record for the largest underwater clean-up."

Local diving centres and travel agents operating scuba diving holidays to the Hurghada area have been asked to "support the event and actively promote it" and individuals from overseas are being encouraged to join in the event.

"If you'd like to be part of the world record attempt and are a qualified diver, start searching for flights to Egypt and we look forward to seeing you here in July," says HEPCA.

The scuba diving record-breaking attempt will "help promote tourism in Egypt and, at the same time, raise environmental awareness".