Thank you Nihon.Iruka for pointing us to this interview earlier. I found this Japan News article which undertook a English translation (possibly abridged). I hope a serious search is continuing for Shoko Takahashi, the last missing.
Diver describes Bali survival ordeal - The Japan News
Diver describes Bali survival ordeal
8:40 pm, February 19, 2014
Makiko Yanada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
DENPASAR, Indonesia—
Saori Furukawa, a 37-year-old Japanese diving instructor in Bali, Indonesia, who was rescued Monday after having drifted out to sea off the island, provided on Tuesday written answers to reporters about how her group of divers went missing and how she was found.
The following are the contents of her account.
We began our dive shortly after noon on Friday. At the time, there were no problems with the health conditions of members, or the water and sea conditions. The currents were calm and the weather was fine.
However, when we resurfaced on the sea [after diving] the weather had drastically changed. Strong winds brought rough waves and torrential rain reduced visibility. When I heard the sounds of a boat engine, I blew a whistle for help.
[Having lost sight of the boat], we tried to evacuate to shallow water, but the surface of the sea began churning like water in a washing machine.
All members gathered together and held hands, tanks or BCDs (buoyancy control devices), and we began whirling around. When we got out of the rotating current and somewhat recovered our visibility, which had been worsened by rain, we were able to figure out the direction and our location.
As we drifted out to sea, we were able to grasp our approximate positions because we could see the landscapes of Bali Island and Nusa Lembongan Island during the daytime.
After sunset, we knew our positions based on the flight routes of planes, lights from islands and our compasses. Sometimes we tried to swim to an island when we came close, but it was difficult as the sea currents were complicated. To preserve our physical strength, we occasionally gathered closely and stopped moving around. When there were currents heading for islands, we swam, even if only moderately. None of us panicked and all participants were stable.
At night, a large ship appeared in the distance, and we all made signals for rescue with our lights. When one of us appeared to be losing consciousness, we awakened and encouraged each other. When a coconut drifted to us, we drank the milk from it. Until the following morning, we held hands and linked our equipment so none of us would become separated.
On Saturday morning, a tugboat made a close approach, and I decided to swim toward it. However, this was difficult. I tried to approach it by kicking the water with my fins, but I could not catch up, partly due to the currents. Although I tried to return to the other members, the currents I was in were different from the ones where the other members were. I kicked repeatedly, but I could not make it back, and we became farther and farther separated.
Shortly before early Saturday evening, I swam for hours and approached a rocky stretch near a cliff of Nusa Penida Island. First, I abandoned my tank and drifted over to an area where my feet could touch the bottom, thanks partly to large waves. I also got rid of my BCD while I was being tossed about by the waves.
The area I was in had many large rocks, and the waves deprived me of my swimming fins. I desperately wanted to reach an inhabited place to seek rescue, but instead what was in front of me were massive waves and a sea of powerful currents, and behind me a cliff. I couldn’t do anything, as I had no physical energy left.
That evening, thanks to a thundershower, I was able to collect rainwater, and sipped drops off dead leaves. Among the items that washed ashore were plastic bottles with drinkable fluid in them. As there was foam polystyrene among the trash, I could cover my body with the items, taking refuge behind a rock. I made sure not to get wet in the rain to keep myself warm.
As I lay down on the beach, unable to move, people from a diving equipment shop and a boat company found me. They called my name loudly, causing me to fully recover my senses. The waves were so big that I assumed it would be impossible for any of them to swim to me. However, one Indonesian fellow bravely swam without fins to my location. Soon after, the other people came to me by chaining their life jackets with rope.
Relief supplies were dropped from a helicopter and I drank water and ate cookies. However, my physical condition would not allow me to overcome the giant waves. The helicopter circled overhead many times, then managed to land.
After returning to land and seeing my acquaintances full of tears at a hospital, I understood the situation for the first time. I thank everybody concerned from the bottom of my heart, for their kindness and cooperation. I can’t find words to express my gratitude.
As the search for the missing people continues, I have become so worried that I could not sleep. What I can do is trust the people engaged in the search and describe all the details that I know about, such as the changes in sea currents at the time of the incident. I regret that I cannot take action myself.
I pray for an outcome where all the others will be found as soon as possible. As I can do nothing but pray, I am praying.
It is unfortunate that most of the commenters here do not speak Japanese. There is a very good amount of better information in the Japanese press.
Here is the police report interview with a survivor.
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People may learn that some assumptions were wrong.
