Kristine Grodem, a 35-year old Norwegian dive instructor, has been rescued after four divers went missing during a training dive in Malaysia on Wednesday morning. A search for the three missing divers from the group, named as 46-year old Adrian Peter Chesters from the UK; his 14-year old son Nathen Renze Chesters, who holds Dutch nationality; and 18-year-old French national Alexia Alexandra Molina, is ongoing.
Official spokesperson for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria, said Grodem was found floating in full dive gear at approximately 8.15 am Malaysian time (1.15 am BST) by a tugboat en route to Thailand, having drifted some 22 nautical miles (41km) south from the group’s last known position. Grodem was rescued shortly thereafter by an MMEA helicopter and transferred to Mersing for treatment.
The three missing divers are all reported to all be certified divers, who were participating in a training dive under Ms Grodem’s instruction near Pulau Tokong Sanggol, an island approximately 15km (9 miles) from the Malaysian mainland. They were reported missing on Wednesday afternoon by the captain of their dive boat when they failed to return following the dive.
The captain has since tested positive for methamphetamine use and has been detained pending the results of an investigation.
A search and rescue mission conducted by the MMEA, Malaysian Police, and Malaysian Fisheries department was launched immediately but was unable to locate the divers. The search was suspended overnight due to poor weather conditions, but resumed early on Thursday morning, shortly before Ms Grodem was found.
Admiral Zakaria reported that – according to Ms Grodem’s account of the incident – all four divers surfaced from their dive, and that she tried to ‘scream, whistle and wave’ to get the attention of the boat’s captain, but they had already drifted too far from the boat. They later became separated at the surface due to strong surface currents.
Superintendent Cyril Edward Nuing of the Mersing Police told reporters at a press conference that there was still a ‘very good chance’ that the missing divers would be found alive.
‘Based on what has been recounted by Ms Grodem, the remaining three divers had successfully surfaced,’ said Spt Nuing. ‘So with the equipment that was on them and based on their diving experience, the chances of finding them alive now are very big.’ he added.
Ms Grodem is reported to be in a stable condition without serious injuries.
