Malaysia
Current drove them away from the boat: Missing divers found after three days in the sea
Photo taken on Friday shows Malaysian Coast Guard officials searching for the missing divers
© Malaysian Maritime Enforcement / DPA
European tourists went diving in Malaysia on Wednesday. Due to the strong current, four of them could no longer reach the boat. A woman was rescued after 20 hours, two other tourists only after three days. A teenager has apparently passed away.
It was supposed to be a carefree day, but it ended in a nightmare for four tourists. A 46-year-old Briton, his 14-year-old son and an 18-year-old French woman went on a diving trip with a Norwegian diving instructor off the island of Pulau Tokong Sanggol in the state of Johor.
As reported by the British “Guardian”, among others, they reappeared after around 40 minutes, but could no longer reach their boat because of the strong current. They initially drifted off together, but eventually became separated. The captain of the boat that took them to the dive site had made a distress call after they failed to get back on board.
Malaysia authorities launch rescue operation
A full-scale search and rescue operation was immediately launched, involving helicopters, an airplane, boats, divers and jet skiers. The captain was later arrested after testing positive for drugs.
On Thursday, around 20 hours after the incident, the 35-year-old instructor was found, but around 30 nautical miles (around 55 kilometers) from the site of the dive. She was taken to a hospital in stable condition. However, there was still no sign of the other three divers.
However, the authorities expressed confidence that the missing could be recovered alive. They were not only experienced divers, but also equipped with diving equipment such as fins and vests as well as training material, it said. All had reportedly been training for Advanced Open Water Diver certification.
Two more divers rescued after three days at sea
On Saturday, fishermen also discovered the 46-year-old and the 18-year-old. “The two were found by local fishermen. They then alerted the police and both were brought ashore by the South Region Water Police,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the Malaysian daily The Star. Accordingly, both would be treated in a private hospital in Pasir Gudang. They are also in stable condition.
The son, however, does not seem to have survived the accident. “The 14-year-old is still missing but his father has confirmed he is dead,” said Nurul Hizam Zakaria of the Malaysian Coast Guard (MMEA). The body is now being searched for in Indonesian waters because the divers have been carried off very far. According to the Malay Mail newspaper, the boy died of exhaustion.
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Sources:“The Guardians”, “The Stars”“Malaysia Mail“, with material from DPA