The GoPros are among the objects recovered in the Shark Cave together with the bodies of the Italian divers who died on May 14th. We are talking about resistant cameras, capable of surviving even at great depths. The images recorded by these devices will be used by the Maldivian and Italian authorities to understand what happened during the dive.
All the bodies were brought to the surface. Thanks to the intervention of the diving team sent by Dan Europe. It is the last chapter of a tragedy that began on May 14thwhen five Italian divers entered the Shark Cave of Vaavu Atoll. They had to go back up after an hour. The dynamics of the accident are not yet clear. In the last few days the permits and diving program were evaluated. The available equipment was analysed patents obtained by divers. One of the latest assessments concerns the currents: the divers may have been sucked in by the Venturi effect.
The team of expert divers was sent by DanEuropea medical and scientific organization dedicated to diving assistance. Despite the experience of its staff in recent days they have repeated several times that the recovery operation was very risky. In addition to the bodies, the GoProvideo cameras dedicated precisely to the sporting activities they usually have excellent levels of resistance. In addition to GoPros, there are also wrist computers used to monitor dives. All items that the Maldivian authorities now have seized.
What are the features of GoPro: the point of water resistance
We don’t know that GoPro model has been used by divers in the Maldives. However, let’s take the characteristics of a model released three years ago, the Hero 12 launched in September 2023. Alone, without adding covers, it has acertified waterproof up to 10 meters submersion. About then to 2 atmospheres. However, with a simple cover dedicated to underwater shooting it is possible increase resistance. Even without looking for professional products, a 58 euro plastic cover on Amazon allows you to get to 50 meters deep. Obviously the most recent models have even higher resistance characteristics: the GoPro Mission 1 can go up to 20 meters deep.
Italians who died in the Maldives, the last two bodies recovered: they are Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino
GoPros have mount sets to be mounted practically anywhere. You can put them on your wrist, as if they were a particularly bulky watch. It is possible to hold them in your hand with a stand, although this greatly reduces the possibility of moving them. Or it’s possible tie them to your torsowith a small harness. We must then look at autonomy. Always remaining on the old models, depending on the image format chosen GoPros can last between 1.5 and 2.5 hours of footage. So, even considering battery decay, it should be sufficient autonomy to resume the entire dive. Once you have analyzed the SD cardsthe memories of the rooms, it will be possible to reconstruct everything that happened. Even from multiple points of view.
The GoPro stories sat in the water for years – they still had all the videos
GoPros are mainly used in sports. It is therefore not difficult for a camera to come loose every now and then, take a knock or simply slip out of your hand. On YouTube there is a long series of videos in which old GoPros are recovered from the bottom of the sea or on the bed of a stream. Some seem real, others a little less. Excluding cases in which the camera and cover are very damaged, it is often possible even after years to recover the last videos recorded before the battery collapses completely.
