When the diver surfaced, he was shocked by the changing weather.
When the diver surfaced, he was shocked by the changing weather.
A Turkish man who wanted to shoot a video while diving for his YouTube channel, was shocked by the storm he encountered when he got out of the water.
Erdogan Odabasi, who has been diving and spearfishing for five years, set off from Istanbul on June 16 to dive with his friends and shoot a video for his YouTube channel Aklim Mavide.
He went to Saros Bay in the north of the Aegean Sea. The Gulf of Saros, called Melas Kolpos in ancient times, is the saltiest part of the Aegean Sea. It is also considered one of the cleanest areas given its high water flows. The bay is home to 144 species of fish.
The group dove in the rocky area between the three islands in the bay, including Mınıkada and Büyükada and the coast. When they surfaced after two minutes, they were shocked by the changing weather.
The group of friends could see a massive storm coming toward them, not visible in the weather forecast. They were caught in the middle of the storm but managed to reach the boat with difficulty.
The difficulties they experienced were reflected on the head camera of Odabasi.
Describing the fear they experienced, Odabasi said: “I dived the bay to check if there were fish around, and when I came to the surface, I encountered a heavy storm. It all started within two minutes. At first, I could not grasp the seriousness of the matter until the wind speed increased and hail began to rain on us.
“All of a sudden, it went dark. There was rain on one side, hail on the other, and lightning flashes. We were afraid one of us would be struck by lightning. We were trying to go to the shore, but we could not see five metres (16 feet) ahead due to the intensity of the rain and hail.
“The storm lasted for about half an hour, and we were only able to reach shore near the end. The weather suddenly cleared as if there had never been a storm.
“Adrenaline was at its peak. It was the first time in my five years of diving life that I was faced with such weather.
“Fortunately, we had a more experienced diver and GPS with us. He brought us to the shore safely. It was so terrifying. The sea is no joke.”
(Edited by Fern Siegel and Judith Isacoff)
