Four technical divers were found safe on the evening of 14 August after failing to return from a training dive off Samaesan in Chonburi, near Pattaya in Thailand.
The group was led by British diver Gary Phillips, 64, an experienced technical diver, instructor and PADI Course Director.
The other three members of the group, John Mecrew, 63, from the US; Bartosz Royals, 37, from Poland; and Tim Pitcher, 50, from the US, were diving together with Phillips as part of a technical training course.
According to local reports, the boat carrying the divers, named Jer Por Dee Tour, left Warasin Pier in Samae San shortly before 10 am.
A total of eight tourists and five dive instructors were on board, headed for the islands of Ko Rong Khon and Ko Rong Nang. The other divers were part of a separate group diving in shallower water, and all returned to the boat safely.
Phillips and his group entered the water at around 2.30 pm for a training dive at depths of between 40 and 50 metres, and were expected to return by 3.15 pm.
Unknown to the boat’s captain, the group had surfaced away from the vessel, but rough seas prevented him from spotting their surface marker buoys (SMBs).
He began a search of the area before alerting the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center Region 1 at 4.35 pm.
A multi-agency search was launched involving a Royal Thai Navy aircraft, Naval Special Warfare Command personnel, fishing vessels and maritime rescue groups.
Strong winds and rough seas prevented an additional vessel from joining the operation from the Sattahip Bay side.
The diving around Samaesan is often affected by strong currents. The nearby 100m-deep Samaesan Hole, close to the popular wreck of Suddhadip (also known as Hardeep), is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous technical dives in the region.
The dive site that Phillips and his team were diving lies in a deep-water channel where currents are naturally strong. The divers entered the water on a rising tide but surfaced to find the weather had closed in and the swell had increased.
Phillips later said the group had surfaced away from the dive boat and deployed surface marker buoys, but due to the weather, their SMBs had been hidden by 4-5 metre swells.
The group then decided to swim for shore rather than drift at the surface waiting to be rescued.
‘It was our decision to swim to the beach, as we realised that the rescue teams would not be able to find us with the weather until the following morning,’ said Phillips.
‘So we actually swam eight miles diagonally across the current so that we could make the beach. We landed on the beach and then notified the authorities we were safe.’
The search was called off at around 8.50 pm after a team on Samae San reported that all four divers had reached Nam Sai Beach and were safe.
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