Close Call for Renowned Underwater Photographer Fred Buyle

On November 8, 2008, after three weeks of filming for a documentary series called Ocean Quest (more details on http://futurapnea.canalblog.com/), four-time freediving world record holder Fred Buyle nearly found death when he was run over by a boat speeding at approximately 20 knots in a marked 50-meter radius diving zone.

Scuba divers had just started their dive and Fred Buyle was still on the surface with his underwater camera in hand when the collision occurred. He recalls: “Nobody saw or heard it coming. First, the bow hit me on the back across the shoulders from left to right and the forefoot of the boat cut a 40 cm wound in my back. After this impact which registered as rather painless, a second one followed shredding my fins. I don’t know how, but my feet and legs are miraculously intact. The third impact involved my aluminum Aquatica underwater camera case which exploded into the propeller, pulling in my right arm with it. I will forever remember the sound of breaking bones.”

At the surface, in the wake of the speeding boat, Fred Buyle was conscious, despite a bleeding open fracture of the elbow giving his forearm the distinct look of a three-jointed limb. He had enough wherewithals to turn at the fleeing boat and yell in its direction. Its passengers looked back and saw him but the boat continued on its trajectory...[Deeper Blue]