Four European divers missing - Mersing, Malaysia

[Dody]

PLBs are generally 24 hour battery life. EPIRBS are usually more like 48 hour battery life. Depending on location, longer battery life is usually not needed. Agencies listening for the 406MHz beacons don't need much time to receive the signal, confirm, locate, and respond. The older devices took several passes from the satellites to triangulate a position. The newer devices send the position, so the time to respond is usually pretty quick.

This, of course, depends on the user registering their device. I recall reading a brief story several years back. I'll never be able to find it again, because it was such a non-event. It involved the rescue of boaters offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. They were well over 10 miles from shore. IIRC, the time gap between receiving the signal and a helicopter locating them was under 30 minutes.

EPIRB is for boats not individuals. PLB work on 406 MHZ but between the reception of the alert and the activation of the S&R team, there can be several hours. Are the coordinates sent to S&R team (not the ones sent by the actual beacon) updated in real time?

 

[Belzelbub]

EPIRB is for boats not individuals. PLB work on 406 MHZ but between the reception of the alert and the activation of the S&R team, there can be several hours. Are the coordinates sent to S&R team (not the ones sent by the actual beacon) updated in real time?

Understood. Main difference between the EPIRBs and PLBs are how they are registered (boats vs. person) and battery life. As long as the device is GPS enabled, the location is sent along the signal.

How often the S&R team is updated with the coordinates will depend on the capabilities of the teams involved. Probably much more often in more developed areas, less often in others.

My point was that the long multi-day searches are usually not involving EPIRBs PLBs, or even other devices like InReach or Nautilus. For individuals or boats equipped with these devices, the response is usually much quicker.

 

[SaltyFrog]

One thing I don't understand. What good is having the GPS coordinates a couple of hours later? Does the PLB provides the exact location real time to S&R team or do they stick to the initial alert?

Can’t address other models but this is the ResQLink

> For the first 6 hours after beacon activation, the internal GPS will start up every 30 minutes, search to find your LAT/LON, and incorporate it into your next 406 MHz signal. If for any reason the internal GPS cannot update your LAT/LON, your last position will be used for the next four hours - at that time, the green LED will stop blinking and the red LED will flash once every 5 seconds until new GPS data is obtained. Between 6 hours and the end of operating life (minimum of 24 hours), a GPS location update is attempted every 60 minutes.

 

[The Wolf]

Can’t address other models but this is the ResQLink

> For the first 6 hours after beacon activation, the internal GPS will start up every 30 minutes, search to find your LAT/LON, and incorporate it into your next 406 MHz signal. If for any reason the internal GPS cannot update your LAT/LON, your last position will be used for the next four hours - at that time, the green LED will stop blinking and the red LED will flash once every 5 seconds until new GPS data is obtained. Between 6 hours and the end of operating life (minimum of 24 hours), a GPS location update is attempted every 60 minutes.

Very helpful

 

[The Wolf]

Link: Rescued scuba diver reportedly saw the others surface

 

[The Wolf]

Adult male & 18 year old french female diver Alexandra have been found & rescued last night at 2am by a fishing trawler,

14 year old boy still missing. He can't be too far away if the currents are pushing them all in the same direction.

Prayers from all of us I am sure for his wellbeing & that he is found soon

 

[Catito]

Adult male & 18 year old french female diver Alexandra have been found & rescued last night at 2am by a fishing trawler,

14 year old boy still missing. He can't be too far away if the currents are pushing them all in the same direction.

Prayers from all of us I am sure for his wellbeing & that he is found soon

Wow. Thank goodness. Let’s hope that the boy is found.

 

[The Wolf]

Just to give an idea of the open sea area of the South China Sea vs where Mersing is located.

Lots & lots of fishing trawlers in the area from Vietnam, Indonesia, China & Malaysia.

 

[DandyDon]

They were lost around 2pm Wednesday and found around 2am Saturday. 2½ days of drifting is such a long time. It's 10:17am Saturday there now.

Two European divers rescued in Malaysia, one still missing

A British man and French teenager were rescued in Malaysia Saturday three days after going missing while diving, but the man's son was still missing, police said.

www.france24.com

Mersing (Malaysia) (AFP) – A British man and French teenager were rescued in Malaysia Saturday three days after going missing while diving, but the man's son was still missing, police said.


The trio and their instructor got into trouble Wednesday after they surfaced from a dive near a southern island but could not find their boat.
The Briton, 46-year-old Adrian Peter Chesters, and Frenchwoman Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, were found by local fishermen and picked up by marine police, said official Cyril Edward Nuing.
"We have rescued two divers that were reported missing while doing scuba diving activities," he told a press conference in the coastal town of Mersing, the base for search operations.
"They have survived, and are now in hospital in a stable condition."
Chesters's son, 14-year-old Nathen, who holds Dutch citizenship, remains missing and search and rescue operations are continuing, he said.
The instructor, a 35-year-old Norwegian woman, was rescued Thursday and admitted to hospital.

 

[Catito]

Just to give an idea of the open sea area of the South China Sea vs where Mersing is located.

Lots & lots of fishing trawlers in the area where currents are pushing them from Vietnam, Indonesia, China & Malaysia.

Well, it is a miracle that three of the four have been found. Just need one more.