Search, rescue op for three missing foreign divers in Mersing to resume tomorrow

MERSING: The ongoing search and rescue operation for three foreign divers who went missing off the waters of Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near here on Wednesday has been suspended this evening and will resume tomorrow.

Mersing maritime zone director Cmdr (Maritime) Khairul Nizam Misran said the operation, which entered its third day today, began at 3 am before it was suspended at 6 pm after no new leads were found.

"Currently, no new information has been received from our airborne or seaborne assets, including the last flight at 1 pm.

"Also, we have had additional assets from the public who have been willing to help rescue operations, with 10 jet skis, but no input has been received so far," he told reporters at the operations forward base at the Mersing district council public jetty here today.

The agencies involved in the operation include the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Marine Police Force, the Royal Malaysian Air Force, the Mersing Iskandar Camp Special Forces Unit, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force.

Khairul Nizam added that the search area, which has exceeded 1,000 nautical miles, will be expanded again tomorrow from 7 am.

"We will resume tomorrow with a new search area where we will go further south and maybe to the waters off Tanjung Pengelih, Kota Tinggi.

"We will also use existing assets and might request the assistance of residents to look out along the coastal areas to see if they can spot the three divers," he said.

Six foreign divers went missing on Wednesday while diving in waters around nine nautical miles from Tanjung Leman here.

Norwegian dive instructor Kristine Grodem, 35, however, was later discovered safe floating fully clothed in full scuba gear by a tug boat on its way from Indonesia to Thailand at 8.15 am yesterday.

Efforts then focused to locate the remaining three missing divers, Alexia Alexandra Molina (18, French national); Adrian Peter Chesters (46, British national) and his son, Nathen Renze Chesters (14, Dutch national).

-- BERNAMA