Yep, the deaths are on their hands fully. The horror the couple must have been through just because of total negligence by the dive officials. Even the time everyone took to realise that the couple is missing. Hope they were banned for life and allowed nowhere near the ocean.
My greatest far is the ocean. So there is a 0% chance of this ever happening to me, but if it did. You all could be rest assured I died of a heart attack in the first hour. Just saying. Second-greatest fear is bridges that go over the ocean...
Something similar happened to two divers in the south Pacific off the Solomon Islands. They survived but their recount of their experience is awful. They were dehydrated, jellyfish stinging them, a barracuda charging them, then night falls. The bioluminescent algae starts the light up all the predators around them. They struggle not to fall asleep so they don't drown. They lose equipment, skin starts to get so pruny it falls off, a hammer head shark circles them and that's only 26 hours in the open ocean. They survived because people looked for them immediately. Its an episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive and it always reminds me of this case.
The hammerhead approached them as they neared the shoreline. It wasn't the people looking for them that found them but fishermen when they were right at the rocks.
I remember when that happened, I lived in NZ at the time. It was appalling that they were just left behind like that. I used to work on a pirate dive charter (unsurveyed), we never came close to losing anyone, simply because taking a proper return head count is a simple, five minute formality. I can remember feeling so sad for that couple & the horrible fate they suffered-sharks or not.
Having dived the GBR before, this story was firmly in my mind throughout the experience. I remember taking comfort in the "overly zealous" headcounting procedures and can attest that at least one dive operation learned from their peer's mistake. This was several years ago now but some of what I remember to help prevent the same situation occuring: 1) You picked your seat on the boat, but once you picked it you were not allowed to change it. They then did a headcount with everyone in their seat and wrote the names of everyone on a seat map so they could compare later. 2) You had your dive buddy, but you also were responsible to verify another dive pair. All this meant was when you got back on the boat and did headcount, you had to verify the other pair had arrived. 3) Your personal affects (phone, shoes, etc), were kept in a locker under your seat, to further discourage switching seats, and make it easy to determine who was missing by looking at the name tag on the locker. 4) Each pair of divers was assigned to a boat staff member. Each staff member was responsible for doing an independent headcount of their 4-8 persons. They also were responsible getting your verification that your "safety pair" (the other 2 divers you verified) were on board as part of their head count. On the boat it looked something like this: "Alright everyone, before we raise anchor and leave we're doing our full headcount. Team leads, count your teams." [Team lead] "Okay, pair 1, are you here? Is your safety pair here? You see them? You counted both of them? Good." *Proceeds to count each person in their section and verify no seats/lockers are empty* [Captain] "Alright everyone, each team lead has verified their groups are present, and you've all verified your safety pair. We're going to do one final headcount and we need you to hold your locker name tag up in the air." "Alright, our headcounts all match, and there are no leftover name tags on lockers. We're all here and will make our way back to Cairns." -- It may have seemed excessive if I didn't know about the Left Behind story already, but it was very reassuring they had such thorough headcount procedures. Multiple layers of redundancy and accountability for everyone's safety.
@rydz656 Maybe because that's entirely irrelevant and you're just a shitty person for suggesting that entitlement makes leaving people for dead acceptable.
Obviously not quite the same, but I've got some experience in leading groups through the mountains and we never do anonymous head counts. We always make sure the actual people are present. Taking someone else into a potentially dangerous environment is a huge responsibility and it appears that the dive company didn't take that seriously enough.
@@Badficwriter Of course they have. That's why the OP said they do the responsible thing by NEVER doing anonymous head counts. It's to prevent that very thing from happening. If the dive company had bothered to call the divers by name instead of just counting heads they would have noticed right away when nobody answered to the names Tom and Eileen.
I can't imagine what it must have been like for them when they realised nobody was coming back. The fact that it is based on true events is the reason it is not one of my favourite shark movies (I can't help but think about the real people and their loved ones) but still a solid one.
I believe they correctly assumed it was only a matter of time before someone will notice their personal belongings especially their passports and send help. It was more of a "will we still be alive once they inevitably notice we're missing and send help?" question
@@SpaceForceCooks yeah but I meant the moment when they realised that it would be too late... That's the kind of things that made me not want to watch the movie back then, though I eventually did. It didn't really want to imagine what it must have felt like
There is no excuse for that type of accident... First of all they always over charge you money wise they are responsible for you that's the way it is period. MIm a Floridian so know how they overbook trips and charge alot...Peace to everyone from Michael down in the Everglades
I remember seeing this movie and found it absolutely terrifying and haunting, especially being a diver myself (or at least, I used to dive). I didn't know they found so much evidence afterwards, including the cry for help. It's absolutely outrageous the diving company was so negligent! I'm glad the owner was forced to shut down eventually!
@ people slipped Into the water AFTER the initial headcount and so when they got back onboard it seemed to be the missing last 2 .if these 2 people hadn't of snuck in a last dive it wouldn't have happened .I know of workers on other boats in Cains who said the skipper was suicidal for a very long time after and many of the crew suffered depression with one never get on a boat again ,it was an accident and I blame the 2 who did a sneaky last min dip because had they not broken the rules it wouldn't never had happen
This exact same thing happened to me in Hurghada Egypt on a snorkeling trip , I was lucky, I flagged another passing boat , I was only left in the water on my own for around 25 minutes , I can tell you that was the longest 25 minutes of my life !!
Thats messed up considering tourists have been on the menu these past 2 decades in Egypt. That one Russian guy was filmed being eaten from the beach while he cried "PAPA!!" Who was standing there watching...sad. That one was in Hurghada Egypt also, just earlier this year I believe...
Absolutely disgusting and when I got on the second boad , I couldn't believe the attitude of the Egyptian guy in charge , he was trying to make me look stupid, he asked me the name of the boat I was on ?? I couldn't remember the name , he said what !? You can't remember the name 😳 I said hold on a second pal and I asked one of his own passengers what was the name of the boat they were on ?? Nobody could answer !! I told him the name of the guy in charge on my boat and had to describe him as they are all called Muhammad?? He contacted my boat that my son was on and was frantic, he was only 9 and they kept telling him I was somewhere on the boat ??😳😳 I was so Naive, I was so glad to get back and see my son , I never even made a formal complaint, I told Muhammad what I thought of him and his trip and walked away . I mentioned it to our holiday company but it doesn't seem they did anything, I never heard anything from it anyway . I would SERIOUSLY advise people to avoid these trips , I really don't think these Egyptian people care a damn for European people, I can't believe I let this go now when I think about it , I was SO lucky . I was a rough and ready type of guy and just brushed it off but I did a disservice to everyone by not pressing it !! Fcuk Egypt 😉👍
that must have been terrifying, i wont even go diving let alone out to see to jump off a boat into the deep. your are simply in the feeding zone , but to make matters worse find out youve been left there. did you confront the charter when you returned
I was very naive or in shock , I got on another boat that happened to be passing, my son was still on my boat but they kept telling him I would be on the boat , I actually got back before my boat , the boat I had flagged radio called my boat and told them they had picked me up , I had it out with the dive master at the Dock, he tried to blame me , I told him he'd better shut his fecking mouth right now , I couldn't talk with anger , the little shit !! We mentioned it to our tour operator but heard nothing from it ? I'd say something would have been done , too many people were aware of what had happened
The undressing when succumbing to the weather extremes is absolutely a real thing.. I served about 15 years in the British army, and during that time I attempted a certain course that requiredwe go over the mountains of south Wales, covering about 64kms in 20hrs or less, it's a blistering pace sometimes but in the dead of a British winter sometimes that's not enough, and I came across the bloke struggling and shouting with another bloke, and it was 1 dude trying to throw his bergen and warm kit off then taking off his full clothes before another guy had tried to stop him, and now they were struggling, and I went over to help, and two of us couldn't control him, sadly we all missed the time limit and failed the course but all 3 of us are alive, thank God.
I'm a diver with about 100 dives under my belt. My buddy and I went to Oahu, and while on island, we went to the movie Open Water. He was so disturbed after the movie, we literally got back in line at the theatre to see the Shark Tales movie...for him to decompress.
Thats amazing that they were both in theaters at the same time. Theater shouldve marketed a double feature there: a little something for the kids and a cartoon for the adults.
Have you ever seen Point Break? My husband was a famous surfer in the 70s and 80s. He's very ill. We talk about how lovely it would be if he could ride a wave out like that. It's the most beautiful thing. But just dehydrating over a period of two days would be horrifying.
@@MellissaBoomeroftheNightI was thinking the waves would be crashing down on him if he doesn't get towed out of that. He would probably die from a concussion and drowning first.❤😊
That’s a terrifying story. I’m not sure what’s worse - dying of dehydration, drowning, or being eaten by sharks 😨 Whatever happened to them must’ve been awful
you people are incredibly naive to think getting eaten by a shark is worst than dehydrating to death… which is far more miserable and longer - come on people lol
If I had a choice of putting my head out and allowing a bite to end quickly, or not seeing land and in a storm and fighting it until the bitter end I know what I'm choosing. The first one because millions of years of evolution, or gods intervention to put us here is far more precious to me than giving up voluntarily.
What a horrible tragedy. That is truly terrifying given the repeated incompetence and negligence. As you said, this could have absolutely been avoided.
I remember watching this film and thinking about that poor couple when they realised their boat had left them behind. Regardless of how anyone feels about the film, I'm glad it helped push for better safety procedures for drivers.
I have asked my husband to try diving so we can dive together (just got my OW cert this year 😁). It is situations just like this that terrify him..the open water, being left behind, etc. I think I'll keep my hubby from watching this movie lol
There is this very true saying: Safety regulations are written in blood. Due to costs and convenience the approach to safety is reactive rather than proactive.
I've done lots of diving across Australia including time spent as a dive master. I got left behind on a dive too at julian rock off Byron bay. The only thing we can make out of what happened was that the divemaster leading us panicked a bit about taking us out,as we were all divemasters and he felt nervous about leading us. The dive started well,with us descending to about 20m. There were wobbygong sharks everywhere on the bottom and we were checking them out. The rock apparently had a big swim through tunnel that we were going to go through,so the divemaster just told me and my buddy to wait on the bottom while he led our other mate(his buddy on this dive) through. We both sat on the bottom for him to come back and get us to lead us through. We waited about 20mins and he didn't come back. I wrote on my slate ' he's not coming back man.... we're in trouble'. We both decided to start a search with an expanding circle hoping we could find him but after some time we realised it was hopeless and with air getting low,we decided we'd have to surface and revaluate our situation. So we did our stops. On surfacing we looked around and to our horror there was no boat to be seen. Just Julian rock about 300m away,so we started swimming for it in full gear. After some time of not really getting anywhere i saw a big shadow moving around below us,to deep to make out what it was. I grabbed my mate and said what I'd just noticed and we both started looking down. Then we both saw the shadow .😂 You can only guess at the emotions that went through me at that moment. People have been eaten around there by sharks before and we both knew it. We both got together and just floated,looking down and watching the shadow. After some time it started to come up under us and slowly the shadow turned into a massive turtle😂 He swam up and just hung there looking at us,us at him and then turned back down and swam off...we were so relieved. So after that terrifying, fantastic encounter was over,we got back to swimming for the rock again. After about another 30mins of thrashing and still not really getting anywhere i saw a boat and signaled it. They saw us and headed towards us thank god. I remember the Ozzy skipper saying ' WTF are you boys doing out here?' we explained what had happened and he was disgusted to say the least. He got on the radio and told the skipper of our boat that he'd found his missing divers and gave our coordinates.....then said ' i can't take ya on this boat. You'll have to wait for yours, they're coming now.' and he buggered off leaving us still floating.😂. About 15mins later our boat came and found us. The divemaster that led us was sat in the back of the boat looking ruined. I said ' what happened man?' and he just looked at us and said ' I'm so sorry.'. We didn't take it any further as he'd obviously been destroyed by the skipper,our mate and probably everyone else on the boat. It was honestly a scary situation, extremely unpleasant floating so long on the surface in that area, knowing what could be around😂. The fear of being left is probably in the mind of every diver. Every dive i ever did i carried a powerful strobe,a safety sausage for signalling,a nd a whistle to at least give myself a chance.
I don’t understand how a dive master told you to wait somewhere and just left you? How does that even happen? My brain hurts just trying to comprehend why they left you!
@@fuzzylittlespider Think he just freaked out a bit. He'd taken our mate(his buddy) through,but then he surfaced instead of coming back for us. We didn't know where he'd gone through because we'd waited. So the skipper didn't know where we were and after the amount of time that'd passed couldn't know or find out from the divemaster who'd left us. It was a shocker honestly!! It could've been so much worse. If that had been a big shark or if the other boat hadn't seen my signal sausage. I also did a night dive on the reef that was ' carnage' to say the least. I've never seen anything like it. The boat I was on had stacks of new divers and divers doing their first night dive. It turned into chaos with divers drifting off,some still at depth....divers everywhere. The boat took hours to get them all back. With many having drifted way off the reef out into open water. Crazy stuff!!
I don't understand why you would count physical heads to begin with. Why not do rollcall? That way you'd immediately know if and who was missing. I think they, or at least Eileen, succumbed to the elements and both their bodies were eventually consumed by sharks and fishes. No way they faked their deaths, like you said, too many things that could go wrong with that plan. I'm glad diving companies did take this horrible tragedy to heart and took measures to prevent it from happening again.
@@stephenlucas8133 I was also wondering HOW. They'd have needed money rather quickly, and aside from one-off sorts of odd jobs for someone for cash, they'd have needed IDs to get any sort of steady work.
I've heard this HAS happened more than a few times..... When you are in a different country, USA rules don't apply. Things are quite different and not for the better....
This is so sad...and yeah, there did seem to be A TON of assuming and just 'nah, it's gonna be fine' going on within that diving company. I get they were busy, and there was that instant of a pair of people being counted twice or trice, but I still feel like there were so many moments they could've noticed something was off. They just...assumed this couple got off the boat, they assumed they just went to the hostel on their own without telling anyone despite having a driver scheduled. I feel like a place that takes people OPEN SEA DIVING to places filled with wildlife should be very on top of safety. Like, checking and double checking, if they find something missing asking about who could've left it behind. Maybe even breaching privacy to check if there's some sort of indentification. and esp when someone comes ASKING for one of their clients, they should make sure that these people really left on their own and are safe. It just...seems like this was a tragedy that could've been avoided...
There's a name for it, don't think it's the bystander effect, but it's known. Everyone assumes the problem is resolved by someone else because people don't like to think about bad alternatives.
Best thing about Sunday evening is chilling out with an episode of Shark Bytes. I remember seeing this film in cinema, really interesting to hear the true story.
It happened to my parents 5 yrs ago in Egypt They were left by the diving boat They had to swim for 5 hours to make it back to the shore They made it !
This movie was one of the scariest I've seen. Not because of the maybe eaten-by-sharks content, but because we saw ourselves in the couple. In many dive operations - especially when they've got a lot of people on the boat, and it might be full of inexperienced divers, we've talked to the divemaster and done our own thing - although obviously making it back ok! The fact it's possible to be so easily left behind is quite chilling.
@@SHARKBYTESWhy do a head count instead of a roll call? Or have everyone sign their name when they get on the boat & match their signature when it’s time to leave. This just seems like a really stupid, lazy system.
I think sharks finally took them since the bodies were never found. they may have been dead already from hypothermia. there is not much food for sharks to choose from way out in open water, so the Lonergan's were an opportunity for one or multiple sharks to have a feast.
Another interesting case for you to tackle might be the mysterious disappearance of Australian PM Holt in 1967. He went swimming in terrible weather and was likely pulled out to sea, but that area is also pretty sharky, so...
Yeah been to the exact spot where Holt 'supposedly' drowned. Thought about it for years. MSM have told people for decades he drowned. I dont believe it. I believe he was done in by certain people in the Govt. He was a good PM and probably didn't go with the agenda, even back then. He didn't drown!!!
Another Awesome video!! I still find it hilarious that after people got fed up with tons of found footage movies we ended up with a plethora of lost at sea movies many of them loosely based on true stories. This one always resonated with me and being an outdoor survivalist I have a pretty good understanding of what dehydration and hypothermia can do to people
I totally agree with your assessment, Kris. I think the most likely possibility is that the Lonergan's were eaten by sharks, either before or after they died. And even in the tropics, cold and dehydration might have been problems. Humans aren't very good at thermoregulation in water. It's amazing to hear about all the mistakes that resulted in this tragedy.
If you ask me: i do believe that at least Eileen suffered from hypothermia and thats why her stuff were found. Sooner or later both of them drowned. I think that that both of them were found by sharks and i think that Tom was consumed by a tiger shark, since so little of his gear was found.
Good well-balanced video, thanks. I've watched 'Open Water' twice and was smitten each time by the melancholy mood that permeates the movie. It's an authentically sad tale, rather than mere shark porn, and was, as such, genuinely moving.
I was enthralled. You are a great story teller and excellent researcher. I've seen the movie but the facts just make it more intriguing. Loved this episode ! You never disappoint! 🦈
I cannot fathom something this terrifying!! I watched this movie as it was based on true events. I know movies usually don’t reflect exact reality. How awful to be stranded in open water. I think they were likely killed by sharks. Some of those deep water/open water sharks like white tips or black tips that eat anything in their path because they might not eat for days.
I love most animals especially reptiles but I stumbled upon your channel and I can now say I have a massive interest in sharks and shark behaviour and everything sharks you have an amazing channel keep it up :)
Its not just dive boats that are negligent. Approx 10 yrs ago, my mom took a charter boat trip off of Ponce Inlet Florida. A local birder had chartered the boat to take other birders 20 miles offshore to see pelagic seabirds. The guy driving the boat was going full throttle through choppy seas. My mom told me that if you were standing, you were falling. The railing was low, and people could have easily fallen off the boat or slid through the open rails. No rollcall was taken at the start or end of the trip. I was appalled when she told me about the day at sea., and all I could think about was Open Water. Lucky no one went overboard, and the boat crew would not have known if they did.
SO many people dropped the ball on this. But especially the dive company, you would think you would do a count at least twice to be SURE. I feel so bad for that couple, it had to be an absolute nightmare - Sharks or no sharks.
Truly terrifying account of what may have happened to them. Just the thought of floating out there in the ocean especially in the pitch black not knowing if somethings gonna pull you under or bite at any moment gets my nerves going 😱 There definitely should have been stricter guidelines on making sure each person that got on was also going back, too many assumptions were made , you don't expect that from a professional company.
Yay new episode!!! 😊 Cheers Kris! Please do a drunken movie review for 'The Reef' and 'Great White'! They actually are decent movies plus one is based on/inspired from True events.
Judging by the retrieved wetsuit, it does sound like they succumbed to heatstroke/dehydration and it caused them to go doolally. They could've drowned. And then yeah, either sharks or even crocs could've consumed them. That's croc country up there and they swim pretty far out to sea. Not as far as where the dive boat was, but if the couple had drifted in, they wouldn't know how far they'd travelled.
I thought about crocs, too... because of the area in Australia. Either way, it had to be horrific for them. I'm glad the dive company shut down....such damn negligence!!!
Another awesome video Kris. 🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈 I agree with you. We'll never know for sure if they were killed by sharks, but if their bodies weren't found, that strengthens the possibility that sharks played a role at some point. But it's 50/50. They could have just as easily have died from other causes and have been scavenged by sharks as they could have been attacked and killed by sharks. I lean more towards them dying of other causes and being scavenged due to the evidence Kris gave us. This is just like what happened with Cameron Robins. What could have happened to him is 50/50 too. BTW, if you do a movie commentary on the film based on this, does that mean you'll eventually do one on the 3rd film of the open water franchise? (the second one doesn't have any sharks in it)
@@SHARKBYTES The 3rd one is the one with the rogue wave. Its a found footage film. The second one is just people that jumped off there yacht without putting the ladder in, and they can't get back on. It doesn't even have any sharks in it.
this is truly astonishing to me...I went on several dives with strangers...typically and naturally, you would remember at least the people sitting next to on the boat...how could NO one notice a couple missing is really strange
I saw the movie at the cinema. I remember thinking it was pretty lame first time around but I’ve seen it a couple more times since and it grows on you. Also, every time you said Tom and Eileen, I heard the ‘come on Eileen’ song in my head.. 😂
A nightmare for anyone. Hopefully the tour Operators implemented better headcounts afterwards. Kris, if you are reading this do you know of something like this happened again in Australia, after what happened?
From what I have heard about different shark types there are. Although rare, you can see the voracious tiger shark swimming in the Great Barrier Reef. These sharks are second only to great whites as record holders for attacks on humans. These sharks can grow up to 16 feet and tend to eat anything that crosses their path.
Saw the movie when it came out in the theater 2x. I’ve never done that to any movie before. I was so freaked out. Howard Stern had a great quote “It was the Blair Witch meets Jaws” so true!
No arguing that this is a sad unnecessary story. Where they were diving on St. Crispins I know well. Considering there’s a mooring buoy there and at some low tide’s a bit of the reef is exposed there are ways they could’ve stopped themselves from being swept out to sea. Had they attempted to swim to either of Quicksilver’s Agincourt Reef pontoons to their north the tidal currents would’ve swept them away from achieving that hope. Staying put would’ve been their best option as a dive boat - theirs or others - would’ve most probably arrived the next day at the latest. One of my boats was part of that fleet diverted to search for them. Unfortunately leaving that site to explore other parts of St. Crispins was their mistake followed by a bunch by the dive boat crew. That night I know would’ve been scary floating in clear water far from the safety of land. I know. A couple years later I was left behind by a dive boat in the Solomon Islands and spent 26-hours swimming through similar conditions to get back to shore. That was the longest night of my life … !
To be honest it's gross negligence on both sides. They should have told an official member of the dive team if they were going to explore off by themselves, not just a fellow diver. The head count thing is a almost as big as an oof as Oceangate, glad he had to shutdown.
I took a snorkelling tour off Mystery Island. I’d grown up with snorkelling and my family’s background is diving (I can’t due to my inability to regulate pressure in my sinuses). It was drummed into us that you ALWAYS swim with a buddy and have SOMEONE on watch on the shore. So this tour I was with a non-swimming friend and joined the tour as a solo traveller. It was awful from my pov. I couldn’t relax and enjoy it at all. I kept up with the tour guides and never strayed far from them at all. I just didn’t feel safe because I didn’t have a familiar buddy next to me. I’ll never do that again. My heart was pounding so fast and I was hyperventilating. Did get to see a lot of fish and swam near some reef sharks but it was one time and done. It’s just not worth the risk.
My husband and I went to see this movie in the theater for our first date… he read me correctly from day one. Regarding the events: It’s so tasteless for people to push the “theory” that they did this to themselves purposefully. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, you have internet Matlock’s out there accusing these poor people of taking their own lives in one of the most horrific ways possible negating the sheer negligence of those who are actually responsible. Gross.
@@reneesantiago6496 they _told_ the tour company they were going off on their own. The company was aware and by the facts available, they weren’t stopped or even warned - they were freely allowed to explore. That fact alone negates any contributory negligence on the couple’s part. Stop victim blaming.
@@BoringTroublemaker @reneesantiago6496 Hey, can you two please come to port douglas? I want to abandon you both on the reef and then track your movements to see what happens. I have a theory I want to test. For full authenticity, i'll need you to leave all your identification, money and hotel room keys on the boat. Also, i'll need the name of your first pet, the car you learned to drive in and the name of the street you grew up in. This is for proof of identification when we pick you back up. Tried this 6 months ago with two homeless people and when we went to pick them up, turned out it was two other random people that'd been abandoned on the reef. We kicked those freeloaders back over board. Actually, whilst you're out t here, keep your eye out for two homeless dudes.... we couldn't find them and just assumed they'd had time to reflect and got a job. OH SHIT. What if those two we kicked back over board WERE the homeless people and they'd just cleaned themselves up and that's why we didn't recognise them?...... Oh well, too late now. If you're interested in partaking in my experiment please call 08 89816000
I agree. Of course, I am no medical professional, especially not one that deals with psychology, but I feel like you wouldn't want to suffer if you want to take your own life. It reads "We don't want to be held accountable for our mistakes" I DO GET being busy, but I would check and check. Have a list and read out names, etc.
I hate when people make up theories like that specially when they have no proof and it makes zero sence or could even be hurtful to loved ones. Have those people no brain, what are the chances they decide to do this at the same day they are forgotten, it takes away responsibilities from that idiotic diving company too.
FYI...One of the issues globally are there can be different rules for headcounts; in some cases, a dive boat operator can charter out their dive seats which can result in many different dive operators on the same dive boat. In some cases, the diving operators/guides, not the dive boat operator captain/crew, are responsible for their own including the headcounts. We personally experienced this, there was no master headcount, in Playa Del Carmen Mexico a few years ago which went to the Cozumel reef which was a drift dive. A somewhat rhetorical question, which is better, a master headcount by the boat crew or individual headcounts by dive operators?
Very sad story, highly unlikely they survived or faked their own deaths. More plausible they succumbed to the elements and/or sharks were involved. Can’t wait for the movie review, I think open water is a good “shark” film shows how terrified the couple must have been
Spooky, our worst nightmare as divers is being stranded out at sea in the dark. I remember hearing that there were a couple of tiger sharks spotted when the search finally took place. Not that that's conclusive at all.
Tragic event due to gross negligence. The company were very sloppy in their procedures. I'm not a diver but I do a lot of other outdoor pursuits, especially caving and often take beginners, scouts, students, etc. One similarity is that it's an extreme environment which has the potential to be dangerous if not treated with respect. - One of the first things I tell people is NEVER to go off on their own. ALWAYS stay within contact (sound/sight) of the group. Whilst I'm leading I make sure there's someone else experienced backing me up and one of their main jobs is to round up any strays/stragglers and keep an general eye out and make me aware of any problems. Like a sheep dog behind a flock of dumb sheep. The crew member who just let them go off was negligent IMO. It's a basic requirement to make sure the other leaders are made aware of this immediately. Doesn't sound as if that happened and then I can't believe he didn't check they'd returned. Yes it's easy to get distracted, especially with a large group, but still unacceptable. Sounds like a cowboy outfit with inadequate safety procedures. - I'd like to know how many instructors there were looking after the 24? Should be at least 3 ideally 4 IMO so each instructor has a sub group of 6-8 to keep an eye on with a senior instructor in overall charge. - Rather than doing head counts I get people to number off e.g. Each is assigned a number: 1,2, 3, 4, etc and then when I call "Number off" They call out. It's then obvious if anyone is missing with no risk of counting anyone twice. I do a couple of practice counts first so everyone remembers their number then call out periodically whenever I think it's appropriate.e.g. after an obstacle when the group may get strung out, rest stops, etc. - I'm very much aware I'm responsible for everyone's safety and take this very seriously. A big part of this is teaching them standard safety procedures which includes constantly looking out for each other. - One thing I've learnt is that it's not the beginners you have to watch most, they tend to be a bit nervous and so follow instructions and stick close. Whilst they may do something dumb it's the people who have a bit of experience who have an inflated idea of their competence and so get cocky you have to watch most. I always check the level of experience of the people in my group. Since people often exaggerate I question them about exactly what they've done to get a better idea and however experienced they claim they are I keep a close eye on them to check their true level of competency. 9/10 those who claim they've done loads before are nothing like as good as they boast and don't know what I consider basic safety procedures, which is always a red flag to keep a sharp eye on them in my book. In this instance going off on their own and losing contact with the group was stupid and irresponsible by the couple. The crew member who let them and it seems never mentioned the fact to the other instructors has a lot to answer for as does whoever was in overall charge of the group that day.
Try having my name when a dive boat captain calls roll. 😊 I have surfaced from a dive and seen the boat far far away (through no fault of my own - the boat had to go pick up strays). I know a couple who told me how the dive boat they were on sank, and they had to swim about 2 miles to shore.
Very well researched video. It is a bone chilling story. I like the way you tell it. Just remember that spoiler alerts should come before the spoiler. 🙃
They probably should’ve done a name call instead of a headcount, them personally checking that everyone was there by calling out attendance would’ve saved them. It was just tragically preventable
I watched a fascinating "river monsters" which took place on the GBR about the crew of a light aircraft that crashed and none were ever found. Around that time of year is Box Jellyfish season which are almost impossible to see.... I'm not sure if they would have been that far out but it could have been another culprit as an untreated sting from one of those would be fatal. Whatever the truth/real cause is, it's a very sad event!
The level of incompetence from the dive providers is infuriating
Agreed!
Yep, the deaths are on their hands fully. The horror the couple must have been through just because of total negligence by the dive officials. Even the time everyone took to realise that the couple is missing. Hope they were banned for life and allowed nowhere near the ocean.
She'll be right as Australians say
My greatest far is the ocean. So there is a 0% chance of this ever happening to me, but if it did. You all could be rest assured I died of a heart attack in the first hour. Just saying. Second-greatest fear is bridges that go over the ocean...
@@nerdjournal _But_ *_HOW FAR_* ....?
Something similar happened to two divers in the south Pacific off the Solomon Islands. They survived but their recount of their experience is awful. They were dehydrated, jellyfish stinging them, a barracuda charging them, then night falls.
The bioluminescent algae starts the light up all the predators around them. They struggle not to fall asleep so they don't drown. They lose equipment, skin starts to get so pruny it falls off, a hammer head shark circles them and that's only 26 hours in the open ocean.
They survived because people looked for them immediately. Its an episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive and it always reminds me of this case.
The hammerhead approached them as they neared the shoreline. It wasn't the people looking for them that found them but fishermen when they were right at the rocks.
Damn!
Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to have to check that out .
Giant hammerheads are the only hammerhead species to attack and eat humans?!
I remember when that happened, I lived in NZ at the time. It was appalling that they were just left behind like that. I used to work on a pirate dive charter (unsurveyed), we never came close to losing anyone, simply because taking a proper return head count is a simple, five minute formality. I can remember feeling so sad for that couple & the horrible fate they suffered-sharks or not.
Having dived the GBR before, this story was firmly in my mind throughout the experience.
I remember taking comfort in the "overly zealous" headcounting procedures and can attest that at least one dive operation learned from their peer's mistake.
This was several years ago now but some of what I remember to help prevent the same situation occuring:
1) You picked your seat on the boat, but once you picked it you were not allowed to change it. They then did a headcount with everyone in their seat and wrote the names of everyone on a seat map so they could compare later.
2) You had your dive buddy, but you also were responsible to verify another dive pair. All this meant was when you got back on the boat and did headcount, you had to verify the other pair had arrived.
3) Your personal affects (phone, shoes, etc), were kept in a locker under your seat, to further discourage switching seats, and make it easy to determine who was missing by looking at the name tag on the locker.
4) Each pair of divers was assigned to a boat staff member. Each staff member was responsible for doing an independent headcount of their 4-8 persons. They also were responsible getting your verification that your "safety pair" (the other 2 divers you verified) were on board as part of their head count.
On the boat it looked something like this:
"Alright everyone, before we raise anchor and leave we're doing our full headcount. Team leads, count your teams."
[Team lead] "Okay, pair 1, are you here? Is your safety pair here? You see them? You counted both of them? Good."
*Proceeds to count each person in their section and verify no seats/lockers are empty*
[Captain] "Alright everyone, each team lead has verified their groups are present, and you've all verified your safety pair. We're going to do one final headcount and we need you to hold your locker name tag up in the air."
"Alright, our headcounts all match, and there are no leftover name tags on lockers. We're all here and will make our way back to Cairns."
--
It may have seemed excessive if I didn't know about the Left Behind story already, but it was very reassuring they had such thorough headcount procedures. Multiple layers of redundancy and accountability for everyone's safety.
As the saying goes "It's better to be safe than sorry."
Comforting to know for sure. Thanks for sharing this with us!
They always leave out how entitled those two were acting the entire trip. I would leave them too.
@rydz656 Maybe because that's entirely irrelevant and you're just a shitty person for suggesting that entitlement makes leaving people for dead acceptable.
@rydz656 Exactly how big of an a*hole do you have to be to deserve to be left behind?
I’ve seen the movie a couple of times and found it horrifying. Fear of sharks and deep water makes it my worst nightmare.
I don’t know if this helps, but I’m a diver who dives with large sharks fairly often, and they generally are pretty chill animals!!
@@samanthaw3845 Until you start treading water, then their instinct kicks in 😱
Obviously not quite the same, but I've got some experience in leading groups through the mountains and we never do anonymous head counts. We always make sure the actual people are present. Taking someone else into a potentially dangerous environment is a huge responsibility and it appears that the dive company didn't take that seriously enough.
I'm pretty sure somebody has died because of wandering away from a hiking group at some point!
Exactly ! I mean, call their names out.This is actually unbelievable.
@@Badficwriter Of course they have. That's why the OP said they do the responsible thing by NEVER doing anonymous head counts. It's to prevent that very thing from happening. If the dive company had bothered to call the divers by name instead of just counting heads they would have noticed right away when nobody answered to the names Tom and Eileen.
I can't imagine what it must have been like for them when they realised nobody was coming back.
The fact that it is based on true events is the reason it is not one of my favourite shark movies (I can't help but think about the real people and their loved ones) but still a solid one.
Nice one have a drink and enjoy
I believe they correctly assumed it was only a matter of time before someone will notice their personal belongings especially their passports and send help. It was more of a "will we still be alive once they inevitably notice we're missing and send help?" question
@@SpaceForceCooks yeah but I meant the moment when they realised that it would be too late... That's the kind of things that made me not want to watch the movie back then, though I eventually did. It didn't really want to imagine what it must have felt like
its a very real feeling, that i think many can relate to!
There is no excuse for that type of accident... First of all they always over charge you money wise they are responsible for you that's the way it is period. MIm a Floridian so know how they overbook trips and charge alot...Peace to everyone from Michael down in the Everglades
I remember seeing this movie and found it absolutely terrifying and haunting, especially being a diver myself (or at least, I used to dive). I didn't know they found so much evidence afterwards, including the cry for help. It's absolutely outrageous the diving company was so negligent! I'm glad the owner was forced to shut down eventually!
btw, I have a "great" film for you to review! The Requin (released as From Below in the UK, 2022)
"The requiem"
@ people slipped Into the water AFTER the initial headcount and so when they got back onboard it seemed to be the missing last 2 .if these 2 people hadn't of snuck in a last dive it wouldn't have happened .I know of workers on other boats in Cains who said the skipper was suicidal for a very long time after and many of the crew suffered depression with one never get on a boat again ,it was an accident and I blame the 2 who did a sneaky last min dip because had they not broken the rules it wouldn't never had happen
@@keidwyn I agree, 100% the dive / charter company's fuxk up, especially given they are the ones responsible and in charge!
This exact same thing happened to me in Hurghada Egypt on a snorkeling trip ,
I was lucky, I flagged another passing boat ,
I was only left in the water on my own for around 25 minutes , I can tell you that was the longest 25 minutes of my life !!
Thats messed up considering tourists have been on the menu these past 2 decades in Egypt. That one Russian guy was filmed being eaten from the beach while he cried "PAPA!!" Who was standing there watching...sad. That one was in Hurghada Egypt also, just earlier this year I believe...
Absolutely disgusting and when I got on the second boad , I couldn't believe the attitude of the Egyptian guy in charge , he was trying to make me look stupid, he asked me the name of the boat I was on ??
I couldn't remember the name , he said what !? You can't remember the name 😳
I said hold on a second pal and I asked one of his own passengers what was the name of the boat they were on ??
Nobody could answer !!
I told him the name of the guy in charge on my boat and had to describe him as they are all called Muhammad??
He contacted my boat that my son was on and was frantic, he was only 9 and they kept telling him I was somewhere on the boat ??😳😳
I was so Naive, I was so glad to get back and see my son , I never even made a formal complaint, I told Muhammad what I thought of him and his trip and walked away .
I mentioned it to our holiday company but it doesn't seem they did anything, I never heard anything from it anyway .
I would SERIOUSLY advise people to avoid these trips , I really don't think these Egyptian people care a damn for European people, I can't believe I let this go now when I think about it ,
I was SO lucky .
I was a rough and ready type of guy and just brushed it off but I did a disservice to everyone by not pressing it !!
Fcuk Egypt 😉👍
that must have been terrifying, i wont even go diving let alone out to see to jump off a boat into the deep. your are simply in the feeding zone , but to make matters worse find out youve been left there. did you confront the charter when you returned
I was very naive or in shock , I got on another boat that happened to be passing, my son was still on my boat but they kept telling him I would be on the boat , I actually got back before my boat , the boat I had flagged radio called my boat and told them they had picked me up , I had it out with the dive master at the Dock, he tried to blame me , I told him he'd better shut his fecking mouth right now , I couldn't talk with anger , the little shit !!
We mentioned it to our tour operator but heard nothing from it ?
I'd say something would have been done , too many people were aware of what had happened
@@gatti493 I wouldn’t go diving in Egypt in the first place. Not a safe place for diving and they don’t take safety very seriously
The undressing when succumbing to the weather extremes is absolutely a real thing.. I served about 15 years in the British army, and during that time I attempted a certain course that requiredwe go over the mountains of south Wales, covering about 64kms in 20hrs or less, it's a blistering pace sometimes but in the dead of a British winter sometimes that's not enough, and I came across the bloke struggling and shouting with another bloke, and it was 1 dude trying to throw his bergen and warm kit off then taking off his full clothes before another guy had tried to stop him, and now they were struggling, and I went over to help, and two of us couldn't control him, sadly we all missed the time limit and failed the course but all 3 of us are alive, thank God.
Sas?
I'm a diver with about 100 dives under my belt. My buddy and I went to Oahu, and while on island, we went to the movie Open Water. He was so disturbed after the movie, we literally got back in line at the theatre to see the Shark Tales movie...for him to decompress.
Thats amazing that they were both in theaters at the same time. Theater shouldve marketed a double feature there: a little something for the kids and a cartoon for the adults.
We have been diving on the Great Barrier Reef multiple times. I can’t imagine that ANYONE would decide that was the way to commit suicide
Have you ever seen Point Break? My husband was a famous surfer in the 70s and 80s. He's very ill. We talk about how lovely it would be if he could ride a wave out like that. It's the most beautiful thing. But just dehydrating over a period of two days would be horrifying.
@@MellissaBoomeroftheNightI was thinking the waves would be crashing down on him if he doesn't get towed out of that. He would probably die from a concussion and drowning first.❤😊
That’s a terrifying story. I’m not sure what’s worse - dying of dehydration, drowning, or being eaten by sharks 😨 Whatever happened to them must’ve been awful
Being eaten by sharks, easily.
Yeah, not even a close call. Being eaten alive by a shark would be much worse.
you people are incredibly naive to think getting eaten by a shark is worst than dehydrating to death… which is far more miserable and longer - come on people lol
Between those 3, if I had to choose the way I had to go....... would definately be drowning. Inhale water and you're knocked out.
If I had a choice of putting my head out and allowing a bite to end quickly, or not seeing land and in a storm and fighting it until the bitter end I know what I'm choosing. The first one because millions of years of evolution, or gods intervention to put us here is far more precious to me than giving up voluntarily.
What a horrible tragedy. That is truly terrifying given the repeated incompetence and negligence. As you said, this could have absolutely been avoided.
totally could have been avoided, but at least the regulations in the dive industry changed in the end!
Was anyone even held accountable towards the end? Or the situation was just written off.
I remember watching this film and thinking about that poor couple when they realised their boat had left them behind. Regardless of how anyone feels about the film, I'm glad it helped push for better safety procedures for drivers.
This was a great positive to come from the tragic event
I have asked my husband to try diving so we can dive together (just got my OW cert this year 😁). It is situations just like this that terrify him..the open water, being left behind, etc. I think I'll keep my hubby from watching this movie lol
Better head counts= safer diving ✅
Fewer medical checks= safer diving❌
Cheaper? yes.
Safer? No
There is this very true saying:
Safety regulations are written in blood.
Due to costs and convenience the approach to safety is reactive rather than proactive.
Saw it with my husband . Scary movie.
Should not have watched.
I've done lots of diving across Australia including time spent as a dive master. I got left behind on a dive too at julian rock off Byron bay.
The only thing we can make out of what happened was that the divemaster leading us panicked a bit about taking us out,as we were all divemasters and he felt nervous about leading us.
The dive started well,with us descending to about 20m. There were wobbygong sharks everywhere on the bottom and we were checking them out. The rock apparently had a big swim through tunnel that we were going to go through,so the divemaster just told me and my buddy to wait on the bottom while he led our other mate(his buddy on this dive) through. We both sat on the bottom for him to come back and get us to lead us through. We waited about 20mins and he didn't come back. I wrote on my slate ' he's not coming back man.... we're in trouble'. We both decided to start a search with an expanding circle hoping we could find him but after some time we realised it was hopeless and with air getting low,we decided we'd have to surface and revaluate our situation. So we did our stops.
On surfacing we looked around and to our horror there was no boat to be seen. Just Julian rock about 300m away,so we started swimming for it in full gear. After some time of not really getting anywhere i saw a big shadow moving around below us,to deep to make out what it was. I grabbed my mate and said what I'd just noticed and we both started looking down. Then we both saw the shadow .😂 You can only guess at the emotions that went through me at that moment. People have been eaten around there by sharks before and we both knew it. We both got together and just floated,looking down and watching the shadow. After some time it started to come up under us and slowly the shadow turned into a massive turtle😂 He swam up and just hung there looking at us,us at him and then turned back down and swam off...we were so relieved. So after that terrifying, fantastic encounter was over,we got back to swimming for the rock again. After about another 30mins of thrashing and still not really getting anywhere i saw a boat and signaled it. They saw us and headed towards us thank god. I remember the Ozzy skipper saying ' WTF are you boys doing out here?' we explained what had happened and he was disgusted to say the least. He got on the radio and told the skipper of our boat that he'd found his missing divers and gave our coordinates.....then said ' i can't take ya on this boat. You'll have to wait for yours, they're coming now.' and he buggered off leaving us still floating.😂. About 15mins later our boat came and found us. The divemaster that led us was sat in the back of the boat looking ruined. I said ' what happened man?' and he just looked at us and said ' I'm so sorry.'. We didn't take it any further as he'd obviously been destroyed by the skipper,our mate and probably everyone else on the boat. It was honestly a scary situation, extremely unpleasant floating so long on the surface in that area, knowing what could be around😂.
The fear of being left is probably in the mind of every diver. Every dive i ever did i carried a powerful strobe,a safety sausage for signalling,a nd a whistle to at least give myself a chance.
I don’t understand how a dive master told you to wait somewhere and just left you? How does that even happen? My brain hurts just trying to comprehend why they left you!
@@fuzzylittlespider Think he just freaked out a bit. He'd taken our mate(his buddy) through,but then he surfaced instead of coming back for us. We didn't know where he'd gone through because we'd waited. So the skipper didn't know where we were and after the amount of time that'd passed couldn't know or find out from the divemaster who'd left us. It was a shocker honestly!! It could've been so much worse. If that had been a big shark or if the other boat hadn't seen my signal sausage.
I also did a night dive on the reef that was ' carnage' to say the least. I've never seen anything like it. The boat I was on had stacks of new divers and divers doing their first night dive. It turned into chaos with divers drifting off,some still at depth....divers everywhere. The boat took hours to get them all back. With many having drifted way off the reef out into open water. Crazy stuff!!
@@scottlaugher-flintknappingyou should have sued. Alsi, you need to make a YT chanbel and tell these crazy stories jfc man
We got peeps that free dive ie NO TANKS at 20 meters here lol No surface interval time lol.
We got peeps that free dive ie NO TANKS at 20 meters here lol No surface interval time lol.
I don't understand why you would count physical heads to begin with. Why not do rollcall? That way you'd immediately know if and who was missing. I think they, or at least Eileen, succumbed to the elements and both their bodies were eventually consumed by sharks and fishes. No way they faked their deaths, like you said, too many things that could go wrong with that plan. I'm glad diving companies did take this horrible tragedy to heart and took measures to prevent it from happening again.
why someone would fake their death without a good reason too
@@stephenlucas8133 I was also wondering HOW. They'd have needed money rather quickly, and aside from one-off sorts of odd jobs for someone for cash, they'd have needed IDs to get any sort of steady work.
I've heard this HAS happened more than a few times..... When you are in a different country, USA rules don't apply. Things are quite different and not for the better....
This is so sad...and yeah, there did seem to be A TON of assuming and just 'nah, it's gonna be fine' going on within that diving company. I get they were busy, and there was that instant of a pair of people being counted twice or trice, but I still feel like there were so many moments they could've noticed something was off. They just...assumed this couple got off the boat, they assumed they just went to the hostel on their own without telling anyone despite having a driver scheduled. I feel like a place that takes people OPEN SEA DIVING to places filled with wildlife should be very on top of safety. Like, checking and double checking, if they find something missing asking about who could've left it behind. Maybe even breaching privacy to check if there's some sort of indentification. and esp when someone comes ASKING for one of their clients, they should make sure that these people really left on their own and are safe. It just...seems like this was a tragedy that could've been avoided...
When i was learning more about this topic i couldn't believe how many assumptions were made along the way
There's a name for it, don't think it's the bystander effect, but it's known. Everyone assumes the problem is resolved by someone else because people don't like to think about bad alternatives.
They were clearly disorganized and too nonchalant.
Best thing about Sunday evening is chilling out with an episode of Shark Bytes. I remember seeing this film in cinema, really interesting to hear the true story.
I couldn't agree more with Wild World here. 🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈
can't wait to do the movie commentary!
It happened to my parents 5 yrs ago in Egypt
They were left by the diving boat
They had to swim for 5 hours to make it back to the shore
They made it !
Damn, why does this happen in Egypt so often?!
There is no one who would choose to go out like this ....
This movie was one of the scariest I've seen. Not because of the maybe eaten-by-sharks content, but because we saw ourselves in the couple. In many dive operations - especially when they've got a lot of people on the boat, and it might be full of inexperienced divers, we've talked to the divemaster and done our own thing - although obviously making it back ok! The fact it's possible to be so easily left behind is quite chilling.
Its such a real visceral experience - the thought of being abandoned at sea
@@SHARKBYTESWhy do a head count instead of a roll call? Or have everyone sign their name when they get on the boat & match their signature when it’s time to leave.
This just seems like a really stupid, lazy system.
I think sharks finally took them since the bodies were never found. they may have been dead already from hypothermia. there is not much food for sharks to choose from way out in open water, so the Lonergan's were an opportunity for one or multiple sharks to have a feast.
That's so negligent of them!! They should've called the police instantly after that driver came and said they weren't around.
Another interesting case for you to tackle might be the mysterious disappearance of Australian PM Holt in 1967. He went swimming in terrible weather and was likely pulled out to sea, but that area is also pretty sharky, so...
Yeah the Victorian Government opened a pool in his honour
interesting, i hadn't heard of this one - i'll do some reading!
Or,he was picked up by the Russians after defecting
Yeah been to the exact spot where Holt 'supposedly' drowned. Thought about it for years. MSM have told people for decades he drowned. I dont believe it.
I believe he was done in by certain people in the Govt. He was a good PM and probably didn't go with the agenda, even back then.
He didn't drown!!!
@@Trebor74Why in the world would he do that? People don't want to go to Russia. They want to leave it.
Another Awesome video!! I still find it hilarious that after people got fed up with tons of found footage movies we ended up with a plethora of lost at sea movies many of them loosely based on true stories. This one always resonated with me and being an outdoor survivalist I have a pretty good understanding of what dehydration and hypothermia can do to people
I totally agree with your assessment, Kris. I think the most likely possibility is that the Lonergan's were eaten by sharks, either before or after they died. And even in the tropics, cold and dehydration might have been problems. Humans aren't very good at thermoregulation in water. It's amazing to hear about all the mistakes that resulted in this tragedy.
you must not actually know much about sharks then i presume.
This is unironically one of the best shark movies. Seriously crazy story can't imagine being in their shoes.
Fins
Open Water is one of my all time favorite movies, so underrated. Had me hooked from start to finish. Absolutely terrifying.
Open Water was such an underrated film, it’s in my top 5🔥🔥🔥🇨🇦
Open Water and Jaws are the best shark films ever made, in my opinion.
‘Open Water’ is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Freddy, Jason, etc., etc. aren’t real. Being abandoned in the ocean, is terrifying.
If you ask me: i do believe that at least Eileen suffered from hypothermia and thats why her stuff were found. Sooner or later both of them drowned. I think that that both of them were found by sharks and i think that Tom was consumed by a tiger shark, since so little of his gear was found.
A proper resister with people responding to their names is needed! What a terrifying way to go.
Roll call and names unreal. How hard is it to check this before leaving - plus all the stuff about leaving their shoes and just going home. Wtf
I’m thankful for this post because I have always wondered more about this couple since the movie “Open Water”.
Omg I've been waiting for you to cover this one!!! Yay!
I have watched that movie many times. It’s so terrifying. Those poor people! Of course they didn’t want to be left there!
Good well-balanced video, thanks. I've watched 'Open Water' twice and was smitten each time by the melancholy mood that permeates the movie. It's an authentically sad tale, rather than mere shark porn, and was, as such, genuinely moving.
Good report. I thought the film was very well done and the story has haunted me since learning about it. So tragic.
I was enthralled. You are a great story teller and excellent researcher. I've seen the movie but the facts just make it more intriguing. Loved this episode ! You never disappoint! 🦈
Thanks so much Pamela!
So tragic. Thank you, from South Africa 🇿🇦
Seen Open Water, and I agree it's underated. Quite a good film.
Something like this just happened here off the coast of Texas, but luckily, the two divers were rescued after 40 hours being adrift.
You are really good at summarizing all the evidence and theories. Thumbs up
Man, what happened was so horrendously negligent. A really good film depiction of the events though.
I'm looking forward to doing the movie commentary!
I cannot fathom something this terrifying!! I watched this movie as it was based on true events. I know movies usually don’t reflect exact reality. How awful to be stranded in open water. I think they were likely killed by sharks. Some of those deep water/open water sharks like white tips or black tips that eat anything in their path because they might not eat for days.
You don’t seem bias either way with your take on things. Love it mate.
I love most animals especially reptiles but I stumbled upon your channel and I can now say I have a massive interest in sharks and shark behaviour and everything sharks you have an amazing channel keep it up :)
Its not just dive boats that are negligent. Approx 10 yrs ago, my mom took a charter boat trip off of Ponce Inlet Florida. A local birder had chartered the boat to take other birders 20 miles offshore to see pelagic seabirds. The guy driving the boat was going full throttle through choppy seas. My mom told me that if you were standing, you were falling. The railing was low, and people could have easily fallen off the boat or slid through the open rails. No rollcall was taken at the start or end of the trip. I was appalled when she told me about the day at sea., and all I could think about was Open Water. Lucky no one went overboard, and the boat crew would not have known if they did.
SO many people dropped the ball on this. But especially the dive company, you would think you would do a count at least twice to be SURE. I feel so bad for that couple, it had to be an absolute nightmare - Sharks or no sharks.
I have a good friend who survived about 40 hours in the ocean of south East Queensland - it was December so the water was quite warm.
Truly terrifying account of what may have happened to them. Just the thought of floating out there in the ocean especially in the pitch black not knowing if somethings gonna pull you under or bite at any moment gets my nerves going 😱 There definitely should have been stricter guidelines on making sure each person that got on was also going back, too many assumptions were made , you don't expect that from a professional company.
Yay new episode!!! 😊 Cheers Kris!
Please do a drunken movie review for 'The Reef' and 'Great White'! They actually are decent movies plus one is based on/inspired from True events.
Judging by the retrieved wetsuit, it does sound like they succumbed to heatstroke/dehydration and it caused them to go doolally. They could've drowned. And then yeah, either sharks or even crocs could've consumed them. That's croc country up there and they swim pretty far out to sea. Not as far as where the dive boat was, but if the couple had drifted in, they wouldn't know how far they'd travelled.
I thought about crocs, too... because of the area in Australia. Either way, it had to be horrific for them. I'm glad the dive company shut down....such damn negligence!!!
They should have a numbered disc when they enter and give it back when existing. Terrible tragedy
Another awesome video Kris. 🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈
I agree with you.
We'll never know for sure if they were killed by sharks, but if their bodies weren't found, that strengthens the possibility that sharks played a role at some point. But it's 50/50. They could have just as easily have died from other causes and have been scavenged by sharks as they could have been attacked and killed by sharks. I lean more towards them dying of other causes and being scavenged due to the evidence Kris gave us. This is just like what happened with Cameron Robins. What could have happened to him is 50/50 too. BTW, if you do a movie commentary on the film based on this, does that mean you'll eventually do one on the 3rd film of the open water franchise? (the second one doesn't have any sharks in it)
To be fair, i never saw the other films in the franchise, i heard one had a big rogue wave or something? I might have to check them out!
@@SHARKBYTES The 3rd one is the one with the rogue wave. Its a found footage film. The second one is just people that jumped off there yacht without putting the ladder in, and they can't get back on. It doesn't even have any sharks in it.
@@sharks3653 That last one sounds like the Kaz 2 mystery disappearance.
@@Badficwriter The what???
@@SHARKBYTESthe 3rd one is my fav. Rouge wave takes down a boat with a shark cage, ppl diving with GWS...then the fun ensues
Bloody scary. Chills
This is horrifying and heartbreaking
this is truly astonishing to me...I went on several dives with strangers...typically and naturally, you would remember at least the people sitting next to on the boat...how could NO one notice a couple missing is really strange
This is absolutely horrific
I saw the movie at the cinema. I remember thinking it was pretty lame first time around but I’ve seen it a couple more times since and it grows on you. Also, every time you said Tom and Eileen, I heard the ‘come on Eileen’ song in my head.. 😂
Oh thank god it's not just me! I HATE that song and I am suffering here, hahaha!!!
I love this song😅
I really liked the movie, but I had no idea about all of the strange things happenning after their dissapearence! Thanx!!!
I remember watching this and only imagining the horror they must have felt
Sharks, tiger sharks for sure.
A nightmare for anyone. Hopefully the tour Operators implemented better headcounts afterwards.
Kris, if you are reading this do you know of something like this happened again in Australia, after what happened?
This film spooked the heck outta me.
From what I have heard about different shark types there are. Although rare, you can see the voracious tiger shark swimming in the Great Barrier Reef. These sharks are second only to great whites as record holders for attacks on humans. These sharks can grow up to 16 feet and tend to eat anything that crosses their path.
Saw the movie when it came out in the theater 2x. I’ve never done that to any movie before. I was so freaked out. Howard Stern had a great quote “It was the Blair Witch meets Jaws” so true!
Best part of Sunday
You always make great vids ! I feel they probably just drowned or died from dehydration and were consumed by sharks! Sucks to go out like that!
Wow, thanks! Just when you think life sucks you hear this remarkable story of survival!
Hello. Good Afternoon Kris 😊😊 Happy Sunday 💞💞
No arguing that this is a sad unnecessary story. Where they were diving on St. Crispins I know well. Considering there’s a mooring buoy there and at some low tide’s a bit of the reef is exposed there are ways they could’ve stopped themselves from being swept out to sea. Had they attempted to swim to either of Quicksilver’s Agincourt Reef pontoons to their north the tidal currents would’ve swept them away from achieving that hope. Staying put would’ve been their best option as a dive boat - theirs or others - would’ve most probably arrived the next day at the latest. One of my boats was part of that fleet diverted to search for them. Unfortunately leaving that site to explore other parts of St. Crispins was their mistake followed by a bunch by the dive boat crew. That night I know would’ve been scary floating in clear water far from the safety of land. I know. A couple years later I was left behind by a dive boat in the Solomon Islands and spent 26-hours swimming through similar conditions to get back to shore. That was the longest night of my life … !
Great story, brother, thanks for your additional info on this. I can only imagine how scary that long swim to shore would have been.
Brilliant analysis!
It sounds like they died and were probably eaten by the inhabitants of the sea after they were dead . What a nightmare situation for the Lonergans.
This kinda thing makes me want an EPIRB in my bc when diving with unknown tour companies.
Awesome coverage of the story
To be honest it's gross negligence on both sides. They should have told an official member of the dive team if they were going to explore off by themselves, not just a fellow diver. The head count thing is a almost as big as an oof as Oceangate, glad he had to shutdown.
I took a snorkelling tour off Mystery Island. I’d grown up with snorkelling and my family’s background is diving (I can’t due to my inability to regulate pressure in my sinuses). It was drummed into us that you ALWAYS swim with a buddy and have SOMEONE on watch on the shore. So this tour I was with a non-swimming friend and joined the tour as a solo traveller. It was awful from my pov. I couldn’t relax and enjoy it at all. I kept up with the tour guides and never strayed far from them at all. I just didn’t feel safe because I didn’t have a familiar buddy next to me. I’ll never do that again. My heart was pounding so fast and I was hyperventilating. Did get to see a lot of fish and swam near some reef sharks but it was one time and done. It’s just not worth the risk.
Thank You🙏 Great Topic….Well Done👍
Didn't realize that one happened off Port Douglas - when I went to Oz, I dove off there, too. Thankfully didn't get left behind, though.
Crap happens.... I know.. but frankly I'd be sooooo pissed if they left me in the ocean .
SO..YES!😬
My husband and I went to see this movie in the theater for our first date… he read me correctly from day one.
Regarding the events: It’s so tasteless for people to push the “theory” that they did this to themselves purposefully. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, you have internet Matlock’s out there accusing these poor people of taking their own lives in one of the most horrific ways possible negating the sheer negligence of those who are actually responsible. Gross.
Pretty sure they were responsible for some of this as well because they went off on their own.
@@reneesantiago6496 they _told_ the tour company they were going off on their own. The company was aware and by the facts available, they weren’t stopped or even warned - they were freely allowed to explore. That fact alone negates any contributory negligence on the couple’s part.
Stop victim blaming.
@@BoringTroublemaker @reneesantiago6496 Hey, can you two please come to port douglas? I want to abandon you both on the reef and then track your movements to see what happens. I have a theory I want to test. For full authenticity, i'll need you to leave all your identification, money and hotel room keys on the boat. Also, i'll need the name of your first pet, the car you learned to drive in and the name of the street you grew up in. This is for proof of identification when we pick you back up. Tried this 6 months ago with two homeless people and when we went to pick them up, turned out it was two other random people that'd been abandoned on the reef. We kicked those freeloaders back over board. Actually, whilst you're out t here, keep your eye out for two homeless dudes.... we couldn't find them and just assumed they'd had time to reflect and got a job. OH SHIT. What if those two we kicked back over board WERE the homeless people and they'd just cleaned themselves up and that's why we didn't recognise them?...... Oh well, too late now. If you're interested in partaking in my experiment please call 08 89816000
I agree. Of course, I am no medical professional, especially not one that deals with psychology, but I feel like you wouldn't want to suffer if you want to take your own life. It reads "We don't want to be held accountable for our mistakes" I DO GET being busy, but I would check and check. Have a list and read out names, etc.
I hate when people make up theories like that specially when they have no proof and it makes zero sence or could even be hurtful to loved ones. Have those people no brain, what are the chances they decide to do this at the same day they are forgotten, it takes away responsibilities from that idiotic diving company too.
FYI...One of the issues globally are there can be different rules for headcounts; in some cases, a dive boat operator can charter out their dive seats which can result in many different dive operators on the same dive boat. In some cases, the diving operators/guides, not the dive boat operator captain/crew, are responsible for their own including the headcounts. We personally experienced this, there was no master headcount, in Playa Del Carmen Mexico a few years ago which went to the Cozumel reef which was a drift dive. A somewhat rhetorical question, which is better, a master headcount by the boat crew or individual headcounts by dive operators?
@@automaticninjaassaultcat3703 Sure but in some cases you're talking about 3rd world countries; can be incredibly difficult to enforce
Why not a roll call instead of a head count?
Very sad story, highly unlikely they survived or faked their own deaths. More plausible they succumbed to the elements and/or sharks were involved. Can’t wait for the movie review, I think open water is a good “shark” film shows how terrified the couple must have been
Spooky, our worst nightmare as divers is being stranded out at sea in the dark. I remember hearing that there were a couple of tiger sharks spotted when the search finally took place. Not that that's conclusive at all.
Like you said there was a lot of presuming done by the dive company. Very very sad.
Great video. No drama. Just facts
Tragic event due to gross negligence. The company were very sloppy in their procedures.
I'm not a diver but I do a lot of other outdoor pursuits, especially caving and often take beginners, scouts, students, etc. One similarity is that it's an extreme environment which has the potential to be dangerous if not treated with respect.
- One of the first things I tell people is NEVER to go off on their own. ALWAYS stay within contact (sound/sight) of the group. Whilst I'm leading I make sure there's someone else experienced backing me up and one of their main jobs is to round up any strays/stragglers and keep an general eye out and make me aware of any problems. Like a sheep dog behind a flock of dumb sheep.
The crew member who just let them go off was negligent IMO. It's a basic requirement to make sure the other leaders are made aware of this immediately. Doesn't sound as if that happened and then I can't believe he didn't check they'd returned. Yes it's easy to get distracted, especially with a large group, but still unacceptable. Sounds like a cowboy outfit with inadequate safety procedures.
- I'd like to know how many instructors there were looking after the 24? Should be at least 3 ideally 4 IMO so each instructor has a sub group of 6-8 to keep an eye on with a senior instructor in overall charge.
- Rather than doing head counts I get people to number off e.g. Each is assigned a number: 1,2, 3, 4, etc and then when I call "Number off" They call out. It's then obvious if anyone is missing with no risk of counting anyone twice. I do a couple of practice counts first so everyone remembers their number then call out periodically whenever I think it's appropriate.e.g. after an obstacle when the group may get strung out, rest stops, etc.
- I'm very much aware I'm responsible for everyone's safety and take this very seriously. A big part of this is teaching them standard safety procedures which includes constantly looking out for each other.
- One thing I've learnt is that it's not the beginners you have to watch most, they tend to be a bit nervous and so follow instructions and stick close. Whilst they may do something dumb it's the people who have a bit of experience who have an inflated idea of their competence and so get cocky you have to watch most.
I always check the level of experience of the people in my group. Since people often exaggerate I question them about exactly what they've done to get a better idea and however experienced they claim they are I keep a close eye on them to check their true level of competency. 9/10 those who claim they've done loads before are nothing like as good as they boast and don't know what I consider basic safety procedures, which is always a red flag to keep a sharp eye on them in my book.
In this instance going off on their own and losing contact with the group was stupid and irresponsible by the couple. The crew member who let them and it seems never mentioned the fact to the other instructors has a lot to answer for as does whoever was in overall charge of the group that day.
They should consider the possibility of coming in contact with a Box Jellyfish.
Try having my name when a dive boat captain calls roll. 😊
I have surfaced from a dive and seen the boat far far away (through no fault of my own - the boat had to go pick up strays). I know a couple who told me how the dive boat they were on sank, and they had to swim about 2 miles to shore.
Wow!! Unbelievable!!
Very well researched video. It is a bone chilling story. I like the way you tell it. Just remember that spoiler alerts should come before the spoiler. 🙃
Only been on 1 snorkel trip since seeing this movie, must admit stayed very close to the dive boat the whole time.
They probably should’ve done a name call instead of a headcount, them personally checking that everyone was there by calling out attendance would’ve saved them. It was just tragically preventable
I watched a fascinating "river monsters" which took place on the GBR about the crew of a light aircraft that crashed and none were ever found.
Around that time of year is Box Jellyfish season which are almost impossible to see.... I'm not sure if they would have been that far out but it could have been another culprit as an untreated sting from one of those would be fatal.
Whatever the truth/real cause is, it's a very sad event!
When we were kids, they always read names out loud. When our name was called, we say “here!”. Doing this could have prevented this tragedy
A dive company not realizing when somebody has not come up is more horrendous than a shark attack.
Dude, great explanation but 1 point you should know. They are NOT oxygen tanks but Air or Nitrox. NEVER oxygen.