A close friend of a 32-year-old British man who was found dead off Ibiza after going free diving and trying to “grab a handful of sand from the bottom” of the sea says he was “well known for all the right reasons”.
Andrew Gibson, 42, tried to rescue Martin Smith after he was spotted floating in the water at around 3pm on Friday August 4, with his snorkel “dipping under the surface”, but it was too late.
Martin, who also went by the name of Percy or Storm, is said to have been a “keen free diver” and was seen getting in and out of the water many times throughout the day before someone noticed he was no longer moving and sounded the alarm.
He has been described as an “incredible character” who left a “positive impression on everyone”, by friends who have also set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his funeral. More than £10,000 has already been raised.
“If you met Martin even once, you remembered it,” Andrew, who is from London but lives on the Balearic island, told PA Real Life. “He was a really close friend of mine.
Andrew Gibson, 42, who tried to rescued Martin after he was spotted floating in the water— (PA Real Life/Esmae Palmer)
“I was on the boat that day before the medics arrived.
“It was intense and for him to die after that… it’s been quite a lot to take in.”
Martin was an avid traveller who spent his winters teaching English and working for charities in Vietnam before heading back to Ibiza for the summer season, where he lived in popular tourist resort Playa D’En Bossa.
This is where Martin, who was due to turn 33 this month, met Andrew five years ago and the pair had since been good friends.
They had chartered a boat with family and friends from Ibiza port for what promised to be a fun day out, and because the weather was “not great” they headed for the calmer waters of Cala Jondal.
“We decided to moor up there for the day and had some lunch,” said Andrew. “It was the only flat place that day and I would say there was at least 20 or 30 boats out there as well.
“Martin was a very keen free diver. It’s something he had been doing for years, in Thailand and Vietnam – all over the world. He really enjoyed it.”
Seeing Martin disappear underwater was nothing out of the ordinary for Andrew and the rest of the group.
“He had brought his own snorkel and mask with him and was on and off the boat maybe 10 or 12 times,” he said. “He just had this thing that he wanted to touch the bottom and grab a handful of sand.
Martin was a keen free diver having done it before in Thailand and Vietnam— (PA Real Life/Esmae Palmer)
“There was never any question of ‘could he do it, was he capable’, because he had been diving all day long. It must have been just after three o’clock when one of the girls on the boat spotted him floating in the water.”
But it was difficult for his friends to tell whether Martin was just snorkelling or was in trouble.
“We saw that the snorkel would sometimes dip underwater but without him blowing the water out, so something was very wrong,” said Andrew. “Three of the guys from the boat dived in – he was probably around 30 metres away.”
By the time he was lifted on to the back deck, Martin was no longer breathing and they could not feel a pulse.
Martin with his close friend and roommate Esmae Palmer— (PA Real Life/Esmae Palmer)
Andrew and one of the crew members immediately started giving Martin CPR while waiting for medical staff to arrive.
“After about 10 minutes we managed to get a really weak pulse back,” he said.
“We continued for about 20 or 25 minutes and then the medics arrived on a jet ski from the beach club, Blue Marlin.”
They had been pumping Martin’s chest for around half an hour when the paramedics arrived by boat, but it was too late.
“They took over and gave him adrenaline and defibrillated him,” Andrew said. “It was after another 15 or 20 minutes of them trying that they called it.”
It is not the first time Andrew has lost a close friend to the sea in Ibiza.
“Another friend of mine died around the corner from where Martin died doing the same thing two years ago,” he said.
“It’s quite common for people who are free diving to have underwater blackouts. You overestimate how much oxygen you’ve got in your body and pass out.
“That’s what we believe happened to Martin, he went down, blacked out underwater, and when we saw him he had floated back up to the top. It can happen in two or three metres of water.”
Andrew had dinner with Martin the night before they went on the boat trip and remembers saying “see you tomorrow”.
“He was such a character and left a positive impression on everyone he met,” he said.
“You know, he has huge groups of friends all around the world who are just devastated because he always put you first.
“If there was a social engagement, he would be there without fail and stepped up when you needed him every single time. He’s left a huge void in the community out here.
“He was so well known and for all the right reasons.”
Roommate Esmae Palmer added: “Martin danced to the beat of his own drum and made sure every one in the room heard his rhythm too.
“The most magnetic, magical and caring being. I will never love anyone as much in my life.
“The fact 200 people have already donated shows just how many of our lives he touched.
“Thank you everyone from the bottom of our hearts, we hope that from whatever world he’s in, that he’s watching.”
