What a way to start the borders reopening huh?
A group of European divers went missing along the Johor coast and a search and rescue operation is being carried out by the coast guard.
A total of 4 people had gone missing on a trip that went wrong. Those people consist of a 46 year old British man Adrian Peter, a 14-year-old Duthman Nathan Renze, an 18-year-old Frenchwoman Alexia Alexandra and a 35-year-old Norwegian woman after doing missing near a small island off the Mersing coast. On 6 April.
One of four found
Among the 4, the 35-year old Norwegian tourist Kristine Grodem, had been rescued on 7 April. She is believed to be a diving instructor. She was spotted around 8.15am by a Cargo vessel which had been travelling from Indonesia to Thailand.
Currently, the condition of the victim is unclear but judging by the photos, she was looking fatigued as she was being assisted when being walked to a Malaysian maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) aircraft. She was then airlifted to the Mersing Stadium before being transferred to a hospital for treatment.
Search and Rescue operation halted
Director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria of the Johor Maritime department said that the search was conducted under rough weather with wind speeds between 10-20km/h and waves between 0.5m and 1m high.
Unfortunately, the operation that covered 107 nautical miles (198km) had to be halted at 7:30pm due to poor visibility.
A total of 90 rescuers along with 18 boats and two helicopters had been deployed for the SAR operation which was led by the MMEA. Fisheries department, police, the fire department, the Malaysian Coastguards and the Mersing District office had all been involved in the search for the remaining 3 victims.
Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi who is the Menteri Besar of Johor had also stated that the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had also lent two diving boats to aid in the search.
The tourist were in the middle of a training before getting separated
Based off Grodem, the divers had actually surfaced before drifting apart. The three drivers who are still missing have also recorded over 50 dives and were undergoing a training course for advance open waters.
The divers had gone underwater for about 45 minutes during their first session before emerging on the surface. On the 2nd dive, they went back up after 20 minutes as Grodem noticed a strong current. She tried yelling for the boat skipper but could not be heard as she drifted around 500 meters away from the boat.
Grodem had also attempted to swim to Pulau Lima to get assistance, but the currents were too strong causing her to separate from the others.
Authorities say that there’s still a good chance of the divers to be found as they had all successfully resurfaced before going missing.
Boat skipper positive for drugs
Johor state police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat had informed that the skipper who took the divers to the location had been arrested for drug abuse.
“A urine test was done on the man who’s in his 20s and it came back positive for drugs” he said.
Temporary ban on diving and snorkelling in Mersing
Following the incident, Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had issued temporary ban on all diving and snorkelling activities around the waters of Mersing.
“I want all diving activities in the waters off Mersing to be temporarily halted until we know for sure what happened to the unfortunate divers. We cannot allow diving to continue if safety measures are not compromised.”
“Diving rules and regulations must also be reviewed in its entirety before activities can be allowed to resume,” said His Majesty.
Hopefully the divers will be located soon and safely.
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media, Says, The Star, Bernama, Utusan & various cross references for context.
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