CTO warning in wake of snorkelling tragedy.Byline: Jean Christou THE CYPRUS Tourism Organisation (CTO (Chief Technical Officer) The executive responsible for the technical direction of an organization. See CIO and salary survey. ) has issued guidelines to the public on diving and snorkelling in Cyprus following the death of a UN peacekeeper in an accident last weekend. Glafkos Cariolou, member of the CTO's Central Foreshore foreshore: see beach. Committee, said that in order to avoid the recurrence recurrence /re·cur·rence/ (-ker´ens) the return of symptoms after a remission.recur´rent re·cur·rence n. 1. of similar tragic accidents, the public should follow the recommendations set out for this type of activity. Cariolou said prospective divers Several; any number more than two; different. Divers is a collective term used to group a number of unspecified people, objects, or acts. It is used frequently to describe property, as in divers parcels of land. should always get to know the sea area they are going to use well in advance. This involves obtaining details on the prevailing wind prevailing wind A wind that blows predominantly from a single general direction. The trade winds of the tropics, which blow from the east throughout the year, are prevailing winds. See illustration at wind. Noun 1. , wave and current direction and magnitude. They should also request information regarding probable legal prohibitions and other local regulatory provisions. People should always assume that the island's comparatively small coastline is frequently used by all kinds of boats. "Designated swimmers' protected areas
Protected areas are clearly marked from May to October by red marks or buoys," added Cariolou. "It is absolutely imperative that when people are engaged in any relevant form of coastal sea activity, swimming, diving, etc. outside the marked swimmers' areas, they must at all times take every possible measure so they make their presence thoroughly conspicuous to vessels navigating in the area." Swimming or diving in the vicinity of port, marina or fishing shelter entrances is strictly prohibited. He said anyone engaged in activity outside designated areas must at all times carry with them a conspicuous floating warning device not less than 50cm long and of an approximate beam or diameter not less than 30cm with a miniature upright-ballasted waterproof flag visible under normal weather conditions from a distance of at least 200 metres. This miniature flag A miniature flag, sometimes called a stick flag, is a small flag on a short pole. Miniature flags are usually found as 4 inch by 6 inch flags stapled onto a black plastic 10 inch pole, and usually have a gold spear on top of the pole. must be either the international maritime alphabet code See: phonetic alphabet. flag 'A' or the all-red rectangular flag with a white 'mast-head' diagonal white stripe. Any other small floating device which may make human presence on the sea surface more conspicuous than the above may also be used, he said. Cariolou said it was always better to work in teams or at least in pairs. "Snorkelers must try to dive in turns so one will be diving while the other can monitor the safety of their companion," he added. Those who dive at night should always be accompanied by a support vessel carrying the necessary navigation lights. "Swimmers, snorkelers or divers must never pick up anything from the sea except plastic bags and other similar human litter," added Cariolou. "Cyprus' coastline has been navigated probably since 10,000BC either by pigmy elephants or ancient humans! The entire coastline is an underwater museum and removing any antiquities is strictly prohibited." He said the coastal waters of Cyprus were among the best in the world as they are clean, free from dangerous marine life and warm even in winter. "Please, enjoy our sea by respecting the environment and observing the above simple safety rules and practices," said Cariolou. Page 1 of 4 Copyright Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail is a Cypriot English-language newspaper. It is published daily (except Mondays) and a number of articles are available online. Its current chief editor is Kosta Pavlowitch. The managing director is Kyriakos Iacovides. 2008 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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