A freediver was attempting to break the world record for the deepest dive when he blacked out due to low oxygen pressure.
Miguel Lozano is a professional freediver and freediving entrepreneur from Barcelona, Spain.
The 43-year-old had attempted the dive twice before — once in the Bahamas and once in Bali, Indonesia.
The target depth was 125 meters — and in the past, Lozano had made it to 122 and 123 meters.
Yet Lozano has realized he’s lucky to be alive after this particular attempt in Roatan, Honduras, in May 2018.
“Once I woke up on the platform with an oxygen mask on my face and all the rescue team on top of me, I first felt dejected, as I knew I didn’t make the record — but also [I had] a feeling of sheer relief that I had escaped with my life,” he said.
Lozano can be seen in the video losing consciousness.
The freediving team on site was able to act immediately — pulling him to the surface and bringing him back by giving him oxygen.
Lozano said his wife was pregnant at the time.
Yet with the time difference, she and his daughter were asleep — and didn’t know what happened to him until they awoke the next morning.
“By the time they’d woken up, I had recovered and been through the checks,” he said.
“I think it would’ve been harder to have attempted the record if they were there, as it would be added pressure and stress,” he said.
Lozano said when dives like this go wrong, often the public tends to judge the divers — claiming they are adrenaline junkies.
“We are not adrenaline junkies — actually the opposite,” he said.
“It’s a very therapeutic sport, very mental and very relaxed.”
Lozano said he only remembers this dive on the way down — saying this was actually the fourth time he has blacked out in his diving career.
The freediver looks forward to training again — and maybe going for the world record once more.
“I’m looking forward to competing again and training myself, and then we’ll think about attempting the world record again,” he said.
