How an Apple Watch Ultra's Emergency Features Saved a Mumbai Diver's Life During Underwater Crisis

An Apple Watch Ultra has remarkably saved the life of a 26-year-old tech professional from Mumbai during a perilous scuba diving incident off the coast of Puducherry.

Kshitij Zodape, employed at an e-commerce company, experienced a life-threatening equipment malfunction while exploring underwater depths this summer.

Having been a diving enthusiast since 2020, Kshitij described challenging conditions that day - turbulent waters with visibility limited to merely 5 to 10 metres.

While descending approximately 36 metres into the Bay of Bengal, Kshitij's weight belt unexpectedly detached, triggering a dangerous rapid ascent that could have resulted in fatal consequences.

"We were around 36 metres down when I suddenly started shooting up towards the surface," Kshitij recounted.

The Apple Watch Ultra secured to his wrist detected the abrupt vertical movement and immediately displayed warning notifications, advising him to decelerate as the rapid ascent posed serious risk of lung injury.

Unable to control his upward momentum, Kshitij could not respond to the warnings. The watch then activated its emergency siren feature.

This distinctive alarm sound, clearly audible underwater, promptly alerted his diving instructor who swam back quickly to provide assistance.

By this point, Kshitij had already ascended approximately 10 metres and continued to rise uncontrollably due to increased buoyancy from the missing weight belt.

The timely intervention, prompted by the Apple Watch Ultra's alarm system, prevented what could have been a life-threatening emergency.

Kshitij admitted his surprise at the device's capability, stating, "Before I could even realise, my watch started showing warnings. When I ignored them, it started chiming at full volume. My instructor immediately heard it."

Following the incident, Kshitij reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to share his experience. He was astonished to receive a personal response from Cook, who wrote: "I'm so glad your instructor heard the alarm and quickly assisted you. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us. Be well."

Introduced in 2022 as a robust adventure-oriented device, the Apple Watch Ultra incorporates various safety features including the emergency siren functionality.

This siren produces alternating high-pitched tones audible up to 180 metres away, specifically engineered to penetrate environmental noise during emergency situations.