A British man and a French woman who went missing on a diving trip after their captain returned to port without them have been rescued by fishermen.
Adrian Chesters, 46, and 18-year-old Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, were found early on Saturday in waters near Indonesia’s border. They have been taken to a hospital and are both in a stable condition, according to authorities.
But the search continues for Mr Chesters’ 14-year-old Dutch son Nathan, who remains missing at sea after nearly three days.
The three were diving with their Norwegian instructor, Kristine Grodem, on Wednesday in waters about 50 feet deep off the tiny island of Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near the town of Mersing.
Ms Grodem, 35, was rescued on Thursday by a passing tugboat, said the four of them surfaced on Wednesday afternoon and couldn’t find their boat. They were later separated by strong currents.
The boat’s skipper returned to Mersing and gave a statement to police, and he was later arrested after giving a urine sample and testing positive for methamphetamine.
It is not clear if he was high on the drug at the time of the incident, but investigators are looking into any cases of negligence. In the meantime, diving activities off Mersing have been suspended.
The search has moved south to where the two divers were found, Mersing maritime chief Khairul Nizam Misran said.
Two aircraft, nine boats and some 85 personnel as well as fishermen are involved in the expanded search, he said.
Malaysia’s borders reopened to foreigners on April 1 after being closed for more than two years during the pandemic.
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