Walaa Hafez, a former Special Forces Navy SEAL and current holder of the world record for deepest Scuba Dive, is attempting to make history yet again by setting a new record for the "Longest Human Chain Underwater."
Hafez is calling on professional divers from around the world to gather in the Sinai's Sharm El Sheikh for the challenge.
The event is scheduled to take place on Dec. 25 and for the attempt to be successful, 110 experienced divers need to go down to the depth of 20 meters for at least 5 minutes, breaking the world record by time, depth, and number of divers.
Participants from all over the country are lining up for the mission. As Hafez puts it, "37 divers are in so far and I am positive we'll reach our goal of 110." "We want the largest number of Egyptian and foreign divers to break the current world record for Egypt and Sharm El Sheikh."
The current record for the longest human chain underwater was set by Groupement des Professionnels de la Plongée in Saint Leu, Réunion, France, on Dec. 1, 2013. One-hundred and ten divers created an underwater chain at a depth of 18 meters for 5 minutes 42 seconds, measuring up to 76.20 meters.
Hafez first gained national and international attention when he stayed underwater for 13 hours in the New Suez Canal in August. At the depth of 25 meters in the New Suez Canal, Hafez was determined to break a world record, despite the lack of visibility underwater.
However, Mohamed El Alfy, Hafez's business manager, stated that "officials from the Guinness World Record refused to send representatives as the site is considered 'high risk.'"
Nevertheless, Hafez was able to complete the dive with the help of 18 other team members and was celebrated by Egyptian and foreigners alike.