7 divers missing off Indonesian island

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Emotions turn up on this forum due to the sensitive nature of the accidents, but they are actually discouraged - belonging more in the Passings Forum. This forum is for the discussion of the accidents and what can be learned for safer diving. Not until this thread did I learn to appreciate the three pairs of split fins I bought early in my diving might be failure points for me in such an indecent, so I'd have to say that part of the discussion is relevent.

The experience does sound horrible. I don't know how long I could have survived on rocks at the bottom of that cliff with 9 meter waves before giving up totally, but the five who made it onto the rocks must have encouraged each other to stay the good fight.

I am guessing from the reports of how this story played out, the sixth diver who tried to crawl out on the rocks but was lost there would maybe be the one found dead nearby, and the one not yet found was the one separated from the group during the dive itself - and could be far away from this area. I could have that wrong tho, as one new story said the deceased had been dead for days. How long were on the rocks, is it known?



Hey Don, if anything one can learn here is that no matter what fins you have if you are swept out to sea in Indo and the current eddys and swell are ominous on that day then only a quick thinking boatman will save you. Perhaps having a SMB will increase your chances... along with a PLB. If you really want to get from A to B in those situations then you need a dive scooter. Surface eddys in Indo can become concentric circles, kind of vortex that spins you round and round and pull you down with a downcurrent too. Its not a simple case of 'fin yourself to safety of a shallow sandy beach'

We encountered a huge surface current at Batu Bolong, Komodo..even the zodiac had difficulty getting to the site at full speed. What chance for the diver with the even the best free diving non split non noodle extra super channel thruster fin?

But its not all that doom and gloom, because otherwise we would hear of more lost divers and deaths in Indo. With the sheer volume of divers through this amazing dive archipelago we hear mainly good things, only occasionally something bad like this. Its easy to bash Indo operators, yes there are some unscrupulous ones. But not all operators are negligent, most in the face of tough diving conditions go the extra step beyond complacency to ensure diver safety.
 
No one is trying to sell anything on here, this happens once too many times, where a diver finds himself in trouble because they use something that is doomed to fail in a time of need.
This is great the 6 survived this ordeal, and it would be great if we could learn from them, but chances are low that we will from the survivors.

What failed here is exactly the same thing that failed the last time this happened at Nusa Penida. It's a failure of the dive boat and its operator and a lack of judgement from the dive shop that hired them. These lessons could have been learned last time. They weren't and now someone has died. This is what you should be focusing on.

I'm not a diver, so I don't know if having better fins would allow any diver to beat any current or climb any cliff afterwards. What is very clear to me is that you shouldn't have to do this, and it would be good if we could all try to focus on the actual reasons these divers (and those before them) got into difficulties in the first place. The common factor is that they all got into the wrong dive boat.

I know there are people here from dive operations on Bali. You people are the only ones who can prevent this happening again. What is needed is a proper set of operating protocols for dive boats, minimum standards for equipment and crew, and enough information about this for your guests to be able to tell the difference between the safe operators and the cowboys. If this doesn't happen, we will be back here in a year or so's time having the same discussion.

Sorry for ranting. I nearly lost my daughter the last time this happened. Nothing changed and now parents in Japan have lost their daughter. This didn't have to happen.
 
In Japan they are reporting 5 rescued, 1 confirmed dead and one still missing as of right now.
 
In Japan they are reporting 5 rescued, 1 confirmed dead and one still missing as of right now.

Still holding on hope for her...but it's not looking good sadly.
 
So what should have been done differently (apart from the freediving fins rubbish)?

From what I read the boat dropped anchor while on a site with some current, instead of following the divers?
The weather changed and there was no warning to the divers. I've dived in situations where it was agreed that engine revs would mean go up.
Also, don't they pay attention to weather forecasts? Or are they completely out of communications in those areas?
Boat not having fuel to search the divers.
Huge delay to report them as being lost!
 
But then won't we have to trust that the local authorities have the means and the will to go and check out the signal?

Hence why as someone who does most of his diving in dodgy locations around the world use an Iridium Satellite network based beacon that also can be used on land for hiking etc. and comes with a subscription fee that will arrange rescue coordination with GEOS SAR Alliance who will also charter private vessels if need be.

We had some discussion on this and various people presented some good options of various scenarios in this thread.
 
From what I read the boat dropped anchor while on a site with some current, instead of following the divers?

Hopefully he did not anchor but used one of the numerous buoy in the area.

The weather changed and there was no warning to the divers. I've dived in situations where it was agreed that engine revs would mean go up.

Weather was stormy all day in the area. Heavy rain soon after divers jumped.

Mangrove Point dive site is 2,5 km long. Typically you drift for 1,5km to 2km here, 90% of the time from East to West. Past the West tip of the island you get behind the surf with no clear visibility from the end of the dive site even in good weather. Once here there is barely some boats passing by. If your boat don't follow closely there is absolutely no way to hear its noise underwater.

Divers & boat captain generally agree on bottom time & exit point prior to jump.

Due to different topography it's quite easy to know where you are under water (even more easy now thanks to PLN & their electric cable disaster ...) but in bad weather & at high-tide you might drift at the surface quite quiclky and finish behind the surf if your boat is not already close to you when surfacing.

Also, don't they pay attention to weather forecasts? Or are they completely out of communications in those areas?

There is communication in place (dedicated marine radio channel) with local dive centers (15 boats in Lembongan), speed boats company (10 more boats), snorkeling boats (dozens of them). There is clearly a lack of communication between mainland Bali ops & local ops + most of local ops don't dive / snorkel in the afternoon : I guess there was not so many boats in the area when the divers jumped in & nobody to assist on site.
 
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. ??????????????????????????? ?????? - Yahoo!???? Try Google translate.

People may learn that some assumptions were wrong.
 
Thanks zivva.
When I said "anchored", I meant "secured in a place". Wasn't aware there if there were buoys there.
But do boats follow the divers at all time or wait for a while only expecting them to surface at a certain point after a certain time? Because that can be a problem if the divers encounter a stronger than expected current. And if the boat is following them, then the engine revs should be heard...

By the way, do you know if the searches were being done in the correct places or how far off were they? Because they were found by fishermen, right?
 
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