'No way out': Missing equipment and a deadly 'sand wall illusion' trapped 5 Italian divers in ...
indianexpress.com
Five divers died in the Maldives because a rare perceptual illusion and missing safety gear combined in the worst way — a textbook case of how cognitive traps and system failures stack up to cause catastrophe.
Swiss Cheese ModelPerceptual IllusionSituational Awareness TheoryHuman Error Theory
Theory Briefing
- The 'sand wall illusion' made divers perceive a solid barrier where none existed, disorienting them fatally underwater.
- Missing safety equipment left the group with no backup escape route once the illusion triggered panic and confusion.
- The accident illustrates Swiss Cheese Model thinking: no single failure killed them, but every layer of defense had holes.