Three foreign divers found safe, one died after missing in Mersing since Wednesday
Bernama
April 9, 2022
Three foreign divers were found safe while one more is believed to have died, four days after being reported missing when diving in Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near Mersing. - PDRM
JOHOR BAHRU: Three foreign divers were found safe while one more is believed to have died, four days after being reported missing when diving in Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near Mersing.
Norwegian diver, Kristine Grodem, 35, who is also a diving coach was found floating one day after the incident while British Adrian Peter Chesters, 46, and Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, a French were found early this morning in the waters of Indonesia.
Johor Maritime director, First Maritime Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the search and rescue operation was called off at 1.30 pm today following the rescue of three out of the four missing divers.
He however said Adrian's son, Nathan Renze Chesters, 14, had died based on the statement of his father on the status of his son due to being extremely weak and unable to survive.
"Johor Bahru Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) had also informed Indonesian authorities to assist looking for the last victim who was believed to have died and drifted to Indonesia waters," he said in a statement here this evening.
DIVERS-FOUND (LEAD) 2 JOHOR BAHRU
Nurul Hizam said his agency thanked and appreciated all agencies and parties involved in the search and rescue operation.
In the operation, 18 boats from various agencies including two boats from the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar apart from two aircraft and two helicopters.
More than 90 officers and personnel from various agencies were involved in the search, among them, Maritime Malaysia, Royal Malaysia Police, Marine Police, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Navy, Iskandar Mersing Camp Special Service Group, Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Force.
Meanwhile, Adrian and Alexia who are being treated at a private hospital in Pasir Gudang, were reported to be stable.
The Menteri Besar of Johor Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghani and Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat also visited the victims in the hospital.
DIVER-FOUND (LEAD) 3 (LAST) JOHOR BAHRU
"Thank God, two more victims were found early this morning. One victim who was found earlier is also recovering from well from Mersing Hospital.
"The doctors are doing their best for them. We hope that they will have a speedy recovery and we will continue to do our best and pray that the final victim will be found in good condition soon," he told reporters here.
Onn Hafiz also said the state government would bear the treatment cost of the three divers .
Meanwhile, the boat skipper who took the three divers had been detained on Wednesday after being tested positive for methamphetamine.
-- BERNAMA
Police to begin investigation after missing divers recover from ordeal
Bernama
April 9, 2022
Kamarul Zaman said the police will begin their investigation into the incident where four foreign divers went missing in waters off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, Mersing after the three victims who were found safe recover. - Astro AWANI
JOHOR BAHRU: The police will begin their investigation into the incident where four foreign divers went missing in waters off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, Mersing after the three victims who were found safe recover.
Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the investigation will cover various aspects, including the qualifications of Norwegian dive instructor, Kristine Grodem and whether negligence occurred during the dive.
"Yes, we will investigate various aspects, including if there was negligence in the way the training was conducted, and whether the training session had complied with regulations or existing standard operating procedures.
"For now, the rescued victims are still traumatised and they need time to recover, as soon as they are stable we will record their statements for further investigation," he told reporters after a breaking of fast event for Op Tambak police officers and personnel at Angsana Johor Bahru Mall here today.
The four divers had been reported missing last Wednesday after they went diving some nine nautical miles off Tanjung Leman, Mersing.
Grodem, 35, who was the first to be rescued, was found floating fully suited in diving gear by a tugboat en route from Indonesia to Thailand at 8.15 pm on Thursday.
Adrian Peter Chesters, 46, a British national, and Frenchwoman Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, were later found by local fishermen at around 1 am.
Meanwhile Dutch teen, Nathen Renze Chesters, 14, was confirmed to have died after succumbing to exhaustion.
-- BERNAMA
