Five of 7 missing divers found alive in Bali

BALI: Five of the seven Japanese scuba divers who had been missing off Indonesia’s resort island of Bali since last week were found alive yesterday, police said.

Local police chief Major Nyoman Suarsika said the five women were discovered by fishermen on a coral reef near Nusa Penida island.

He said one person was in a critical condition and was flown by helicopter to a hospi- tal in Jimbaran, a fishing port. The four others would be evacuated by boat, he said.

Rescuers were continuing to search for the other two divers.

The group of six women and one man, including two instructors, disappeared on Friday afternoon while diving around mangroves off Bali’s south-east coast when strong winds and heavy rain hit the area. Poor weather hampered rescue efforts.

A huge search swung into action after the seven women went missing on during their third dive of the day from the island of Nusa Lembongan, just east of Bali.

Rescue efforts were hampered by poor weather yesterday, with a helicopter only able to join the search in the afternoon after being grounded by heavy rain and strong winds in the morning.

But at about 3.30pm local time, five of the women were found alive.

The women were experienced scuba divers who had logged more than 50 dives each.

Bali search-and-rescue chief Didi Hamzar has said he received information that the dive boat’s skipper had had to refuel before heading to the meeting spot where divers resurfaced. – Sapa-AP, AFP