Nöbetçi Eczaneler
By Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell
A 59-year-old scuba diving instructor from Malta has died after an accident in Ċirkewwa on the morning of Sunday, 29 June.
Dione Galdes, from Iklin, was a well-known and highly respected BSAC Instructor with Malta’s Calypso Sub-Aqua Club, who announced the news of Galdes’ death in a statement on Facebook.
Galdes is said to have got into difficulty at around 9 am in 2 metres of water close to the entrance of the dive site at Ċirkewwa Marine Park.
He was removed from the water and given emergency medical assistance on the shore before being taken to Malta’s Mater Dei Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning.
Authorities have not yet released details of the incident which led to his injuries, but a post on Malta dive forum Divinginfo.mt says that eyewitnesses reported the accident may have been ‘the result of a potential oversight in equipment setup, or potential triggering of a medical condition.’
Andrew Zammit, chairman of Calypso Sub-Aqua Club paid tribute to Galdes in a post on social media. ‘Dione was not only a skilled diving instructor but also a trusted mentor, a generous advisor, and a true companion to all who had the privilege of knowing him,’ said Zammit.
‘His calm, approachable nature made him easy to work with, and his passion for diving was matched only by his dedication to sharing it with others.
‘Many of us took our first underwater breaths under his care, and countless divers carry a part of his legacy in their training and love for the sport.
‘His absence leaves a deep void in our community, but his spirit, his laughter, and his wisdom will remain with us always.’
Galdes’ death at Ċirkewwa has once again prompted calls for better emergency facilities to be put in place at the popular dive spot.
In October 2024, a 66-year-old British diver died at Ċirkewwa after surfacing from a dive ‘feeling unwell’ and, like Galdes, was treated on shore in front of other divers before being transferred to hospital.
Following the news of Galdes’ passing, David Agius, owner of divinginfo.mt wrote to Malta’s prime minister, Robert Abela, appealing for two currently unused rooms at the site to be turned into a dedicated medical facility.
‘Today, another case was witnessed where the lack of assignment of two empty rooms … at the edge of the car park to the Marine Park led to a much-loved local diver having to be treated on the pavement following a serious accident,’ Agius wrote.
‘All treatment was in full view of arriving local divers, diving tourists and passersby for close to 30 minutes,’ he continued, adding that Galdes was ‘given CPR in almost 40 degrees of sun until an ambulance from Mater Dei arrived.’
A petition to the government calling for the changes was signed by 236 divers and dive professionals in May, but has yet to receive a response.
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