Search for four missing foreign divers postponed due to poor visibility

JOHOR BARU: The search and rescue (SAR) operations for four foreign divers reported missing in Pulau Tokong Sanggol, Mersing, has been postponed due to poor visibility.

Johor Maritime director First Maritime Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the search for the four victims was halted at 7.30pm on Wednesday (April 6).

He said it would continue at 7am on Thursday (April 7).

"The search today involved an area of 21.45 sq nautical miles,” he said in a statement.

Nurul Hizam said the operation was conducted in rough weather conditions with wind speeds of between 10 and 20 km per hour (km/h) and waves of between 0.5 and 1m.

In the noon incident today, a 14-year-old Dutch boy, a 46-year-old British man, an 18-year-old French girl and a 35-year-old Norwegian woman - believed to be a diving coach - were found missing during a diving training session at about nine nautical miles from Tanjung Leman, Mersing.

Nurul Hizam said a missing report was lodged by the boat skipper who was taking the divers when the four did not surface from their diving session at around noon.

He said an SAR operation was activated at 2.45pm involving assets of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), marine police and the Malaysian Fisheries Department. – Bernama