Peril in the Blue Hole: Why I almost stopped freediving

Available for over a year

Belgian actor Kristof Coenen was in his 30s when he moved to Dahab in Egypt. Captivated by the Blue Hole, a coral-lined sinkhole in the Red Sea, he decided to become a freediver after he met the renowned safety instructor Stephen Keenan. They became close friends, and together they would freedive – descending to the dark depths of the ocean on a single breath. It opened up a record-breaking world of daring swims through caves and reefs. But in freediving, pushing to the limit can be fatal. Kristof and Stephen are both featured in the documentary, The Deepest Breath. As a child in Basra during the Iran-Iraq war, Asmaa Al-Allak lived through intense bombing raids. But she managed to stitch herself a small mental escape from the fear – being taught to sew by her seamstress grandmother. Asmaa would eventually escape war and move to the UK where she became a breast surgeon, working with cancer patients. She never forgot her sewing skills and took her talents to the TV show, The Great British Sewing Bee. Presenter: India Rakusen Producers: Maryam Maruf and Olivia Lynch-Kelly Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A freediver in Dahab’s Blue Hole. Credit: Netflix)