Turkish student dies after holding breath underwater for too long
AYDIN
A Turkish university student, who also worked as a professional diver, has died after a test to hold his breath underwater.
Boran Can Tayşi, a mechanical engineering freshman at Bilkent University in Ankara, went to a pool at the Atatürk Sports Center in the western province of Aydın to swim with his aunt and friends on June 25, according to Turkish daily Habertürk.
Without notifying anyone around, Tayşi dived two meters deep and sat on the floor of the pool, holding his breath.
After almost three minutes, lifeguards intervened as the young man failed to resurface.
According to eyewitnesses, although he had professional diving experience, Tayşi exhaled in one long breath at the end of his breath-holding test, instead of exhaling in small amounts, which is considered the correct procedure to avoid the lungs to be filled with water.
Lifeguards and medical personnel took Tayşi out of the pool and admitted him to Aydın State Hospital.
Tayşi died after eight hours in intensive care unit, according to the report.
Serhat Arıkan, a 34-year-old diver and marine rescue team member, had also died in a swimming pool in Aydın during a breath-holding test last year, after he lost consciousness underwater due to shallow-water blackout.
Experts warn that breath-holding tests should not be practiced alone and without training.
