7 divers missing off Indonesian island
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This photo set was shared via Share.Pho.to is little bit west from Manta Point, so if you'd get washed up on those cliff, it's not your optimal place to get rescued.. Very steep. I'd even say it's quote dangerous to get out of water to those rocks, if there's any swell. Although after drifting for a whole night getting to any piece of land would be ok. As the latest Jakarta Post link says, they are having troubles rescuing the remaining two from those cliffs. Hope they get them out of there soon!
clownfishsydney
Contributor
I hope that this latest report from the Jakarta Post is correct, although based on the time of the report and what time it is now there, they should have been rescued by now.
So, here's the story according to a dive professional in Bali, and who knows the two instructors involved in the incident. Bear in mind that this is just what came out on Facebook; I know none of the divers involved, nor was I there when it happened. The instructor telling the following version is also only a friend of a friend but he confirmed the story as it was written.
On Friday Feb 14, seven female divers (two instructors-guides, five guests) departed Sanur for Nusa Penida. The two Japanese dive guides are experienced, and have been guiding dives in Bali for over seven years. They were on a boat operated by Ocean Express, a Nusa Dua-based boat. It was cloudy in the morning, but generally the weather was OK for diving, and they were NOT the only divers/boat departing for Nusa Penida that day.
Around 1PM, they descended at the dive site (The Mangrove, off Nusa Lembongan). At this point in time, it was cloudy, but diveable. One of the divers drifted and got separated from the group, and the current picked up, so the remaining divers aborted the dive and surfaced. On the surface, they found that the wind had picked up, causing high waves, and heavy rain was pouring down, reducing surface visibility to about 15m. They could not locate the diver who got separated, nor the boat. They stayed together, pounded by waves and surface current, and drifted towards Nusa Penida. (It is unclear how long they drifted). At some point they reached the cliffs near Manta Point (a dive site off Nusa Penida), managed to grab hold of the rocks and helped each other up the cliffs. At this point, the waves were about 3-meter high, and one diver slipped from grasp and could not reach the rocks.
What happened to the boat?
The boat was anchored before dropping off the divers. A little after the divers descended, it started to rain heavily, so the boat started searching for the divers about 40 minutes after they descended, until it was low on fuel. So the boat left the site to Nusa Lembongan TO REFUEL. The crew has grossly miscalculated the fuel needed for the day, and were forced to buy fuel from islanders. This is NOT a common practice, in the 100 or so dives I've done in Nusa Penida, never had I ever been on a dive boat that ran out of fuel, or left the site while I was diving. The dive boat then returned to the site to look for the divers. The crew was unable to locate the divers, and continued to search on its own. Only at 6PM (!!!) that night they reported the divers as missing. Bear in mind, there were numerous dive boats nearby, who could have assisted with the search had they known there were divers missing.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Search and Rescue boats and helicopter conducted searches around Nusa Penida. On Saturday, the search was aborted early due to bad weather. On Sunday and Monday, the entire dive community in Sanur pitched in and deployed private boats to help search for the missing divers. The Japanese dive community in Bali even went so far as to raise money to charter a helicopter for the search.
On Monday Feb 17, at about 3.30PM, one of the private dive boats spotted the divers in Manta Point, and rescued five of them. One of the instructors was among those rescued.
At this time, two of the divers are still missing. The rescue effort continues, both officially and privately organized. Let's all send them positive thoughts and prayers, and hope for the best outcome possible.
On Friday Feb 14, seven female divers (two instructors-guides, five guests) departed Sanur for Nusa Penida. The two Japanese dive guides are experienced, and have been guiding dives in Bali for over seven years. They were on a boat operated by Ocean Express, a Nusa Dua-based boat. It was cloudy in the morning, but generally the weather was OK for diving, and they were NOT the only divers/boat departing for Nusa Penida that day.
Around 1PM, they descended at the dive site (The Mangrove, off Nusa Lembongan). At this point in time, it was cloudy, but diveable. One of the divers drifted and got separated from the group, and the current picked up, so the remaining divers aborted the dive and surfaced. On the surface, they found that the wind had picked up, causing high waves, and heavy rain was pouring down, reducing surface visibility to about 15m. They could not locate the diver who got separated, nor the boat. They stayed together, pounded by waves and surface current, and drifted towards Nusa Penida. (It is unclear how long they drifted). At some point they reached the cliffs near Manta Point (a dive site off Nusa Penida), managed to grab hold of the rocks and helped each other up the cliffs. At this point, the waves were about 3-meter high, and one diver slipped from grasp and could not reach the rocks.
What happened to the boat?
The boat was anchored before dropping off the divers. A little after the divers descended, it started to rain heavily, so the boat started searching for the divers about 40 minutes after they descended, until it was low on fuel. So the boat left the site to Nusa Lembongan TO REFUEL. The crew has grossly miscalculated the fuel needed for the day, and were forced to buy fuel from islanders. This is NOT a common practice, in the 100 or so dives I've done in Nusa Penida, never had I ever been on a dive boat that ran out of fuel, or left the site while I was diving. The dive boat then returned to the site to look for the divers. The crew was unable to locate the divers, and continued to search on its own. Only at 6PM (!!!) that night they reported the divers as missing. Bear in mind, there were numerous dive boats nearby, who could have assisted with the search had they known there were divers missing.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Search and Rescue boats and helicopter conducted searches around Nusa Penida. On Saturday, the search was aborted early due to bad weather. On Sunday and Monday, the entire dive community in Sanur pitched in and deployed private boats to help search for the missing divers. The Japanese dive community in Bali even went so far as to raise money to charter a helicopter for the search.
On Monday Feb 17, at about 3.30PM, one of the private dive boats spotted the divers in Manta Point, and rescued five of them. One of the instructors was among those rescued.
At this time, two of the divers are still missing. The rescue effort continues, both officially and privately organized. Let's all send them positive thoughts and prayers, and hope for the best outcome possible.
That the two missing divers were eventually located at the same spot as reported on Jakarta Post!!!!
---------- Post added February 18th, 2014 at 03:07 PM ----------
You would have thought so!!
gee13
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The Jakarta Post and Jakarta Globe are running stories reporting information that the remaining two divers have been located and are alive. If you have ever seen the sheer cliffs and big water outside Manta Point, it makes sense that a rescue could still be ongoing. Still, this is great news.
Meanwhile, I hope this is a time when all operators around Bali and Lembongan take some time to review some IMPORTANT procedures with their guides and boat crews, especially before running 20km across big water and dumping your guests into spots like Blue Corner and Crystal Bay. Contingency planning does matter. This is especially true if one is subcontracting a boat and crew. Having 25 years of experience leading dives around Nusa Penida don't mean a whole lot when the guy(s) topside makes very poor decisions.
Leaving seven people in the water when low on fuel and not calling it in for almost four hours...that is really, really freakin' scary.
That being said, I should also point out there are a number of amazing operators in Bali and across Indonesia. Many have a presence on this board. I would not hesitate to send people I love out with operations like Two-Fish, Blue Marine, Wicked, Froggies, and a number of others across Indonesia.
Meanwhile, I hope this is a time when all operators around Bali and Lembongan take some time to review some IMPORTANT procedures with their guides and boat crews, especially before running 20km across big water and dumping your guests into spots like Blue Corner and Crystal Bay. Contingency planning does matter. This is especially true if one is subcontracting a boat and crew. Having 25 years of experience leading dives around Nusa Penida don't mean a whole lot when the guy(s) topside makes very poor decisions.
Leaving seven people in the water when low on fuel and not calling it in for almost four hours...that is really, really freakin' scary.
That being said, I should also point out there are a number of amazing operators in Bali and across Indonesia. Many have a presence on this board. I would not hesitate to send people I love out with operations like Two-Fish, Blue Marine, Wicked, Froggies, and a number of others across Indonesia.
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clownfishsydney
Contributor
The Daily Mail in UK is also reporting that the final two have been found, although it is still not clear if they have been rescued. See Final two women scuba divers found clinging to coral reef off Bali | Mail Online
gee13
Contributor
All I can think of is being out there for over 4 days without food and what available rainwater...cold and being wind and wave swept.. if they can survive then they should be made diving saints.
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What a mess. This article was just published reporting a fatality found near southern Bali???
Meanwhile this article reports both were found alive.
Guess we just do not know yet.
Meanwhile this article reports both were found alive.
Guess we just do not know yet.
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