A solo traveller’s underwater footage from Hurghada, Egypt, has ignited a wider conversation about safety standards in the Red Sea resort town’s diving industry, after the clip — showing alleged inappropriate physical contact by a scuba instructor — accumulated over 30,000 views within days of being posted online.
Rasha Mediene, who was completing an Open Water scuba diving course in Hurghada, published the video on her Instagram account (@roam.with.rasha) on 9 March 2026. The footage shows an instructor touching her body repeatedly during an underwater session. Mediene can be seen pushing the instructor’s hand away on multiple occasions.
Hurghada is one of the world’s most popular recreational diving destinations, drawing tens of thousands of tourists each year to the Red Sea. The city supports a large network of dive schools and certified instructors, and the incident has prompted questions about oversight, accountability, and the particular vulnerabilities faced by solo travellers — especially women — when undertaking adventure activities abroad.
What the Video Shows
The footage, recorded during a training dive, shows Mediene practising basic skills underwater while the instructor guides her. During the session, the instructor makes repeated physical contact with her body. Mediene said the touching was unrelated to safety procedures or standard instructional technique, and the video shows her actively repositioning his hands to stop the contact.
In her post accompanying the video, Mediene wrote that the underwater environment creates a significant power imbalance between instructor and student. She noted that beginners, unfamiliar with what constitutes normal diving guidance, may feel unable to object — particularly when they are dependent on their instructor for safety.
She was direct in her message to other travellers: “You are allowed to push someone away. You are allowed to move their hands. You are allowed to end the dive.”
In a follow-up video, Mediene said the instructor’s behaviour had seemed unusual from the outset of the lesson. She named the individual publicly and advised others not to book sessions with him. At the same time, she was careful to distinguish between the actions of one instructor and the broader diving community in Hurghada, stating that many professional and reputable operators work in the area and encouraging travellers to research their chosen dive school thoroughly before booking.
Professional Divers Question the Conduct
The video drew responses from a number of qualified scuba diving instructors, whose assessments added professional weight to Mediene’s account.
One instructor explained that physical contact during a dive lesson is sometimes necessary, but is strictly limited in scope. Permissible contact typically involves a student’s equipment — holding BCD straps, the tank, or rigging rings — and only when the student is showing signs of distress, panic, or is at risk of ascending too rapidly. The instructor noted that because Mediene appeared calm and in control throughout the footage, the contact shown in the video fell outside those accepted parameters.
A second diving professional emphasised that responsible instruction begins before entering the water. A proper pre-dive briefing should clearly explain to the student what physical assistance they might receive during the session and under what circumstances. This transparency, they said, is a standard part of professional dive training and helps establish trust between instructor and student. The absence of such a briefing, or contact that goes beyond what was discussed, would represent a departure from established practice.
Both instructors urged Mediene to file a formal complaint, as did several other diving professionals in the comment section.
PADI Responds, Calls for Formal Report
The social media account of PADI TV — linked to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world’s largest recreational diving membership and training organisation — responded directly to Mediene’s post. The account directed her to PADI’s Quality Management team and encouraged her to submit a formal report so the incident could be properly reviewed.
PADI operates a complaints and standards process through which the conduct of affiliated instructors can be investigated. If substantiated, violations of PADI’s standards can result in sanctions up to and including the revocation of an instructor’s certification.
Wider Reaction and Safety Concerns
The post drew extensive comment from the public, with many viewers — particularly women — sharing their own experiences of harassment during travel and outdoor activities. Several commenters described discomfort at watching the footage, while others praised Mediene for posting it despite the personal exposure involved.
A recurring theme in the responses was the difficulty of identifying inappropriate behaviour in technical or unfamiliar environments. Solo travellers, who lack the support network of a group and may be less familiar with local norms or industry standards, are often in a more vulnerable position when something goes wrong.
Mediene said her primary motivation in posting the video was to inform other beginners — particularly solo female travellers — who might not know what to expect from a legitimate diving lesson. She said professional instruction should be defined by respect, safety and a focus on learning, and that tourists have every right to hold their instructors to that standard.
“Solo female travellers deserve to feel safe everywhere, including underwater,” she wrote.
Editorial Note
This article reports on a video that has circulated widely on social media. The claims mentioned are allegations made by the individual who posted the video online. At the time of publication, no official investigation results have been publicly confirmed. Diventures Magazine encourages respectful discussion and supports the highest professional standards in the diving industry.
Diventures Team is a multidisciplinary team of scuba professionals, editors, and digital creators, producing accurate and experience-driven coverage of diving, marine life, and ocean culture.
