‘Getting winched out, I screamed at the top of my lungs’

There was no hint of the horror to come when Abigail Borg and Christian Heitkemper arrived at Dwejra, Gozo, at 9am last Wednesday. Conditions at the inland sea were “extremely agreeable” and the friends enjoyed a “fabulous and interesting” dive, said Ms Borg, 31. But as the experienced divers stopped for decompression at the opening of the tunnel on the seaward side, it was evident conditions had deteriorated drastically. Ms Borg swam close to the bottom as she entered the tunnel. “As the tunnel got narrower, the current got stronger. We were being thrown around, risking a collision with the rocks,” she said. Both being familiar with the area, they left and realised nowhere was accessible for a safe exit. After assessing the risks, they agreed that waiting for their families at home to raise the alarm was their only safe option, she said. They spent all day staying close to the tunnel as they knew that that was where the search would start. “You cannot let yourself think about dying,” said Ms Borg. “When the police appeared on the cliff edge and signalled they could see us, the relief was immense.” Over at the Armed Forces Air Wing in Luqa, duty pilot Mark Cassar, 38, received a...