Two scuba divers have been rescued after spending almost 22 hours adrift off the coast of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, after becoming separated from their boat.
The pair, aged 43 and 45, failed to return to their vessel after a dive off Point Lookout on Saturday morning, prompting a multi-agency search involving Queensland Police, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and volunteer marine rescue units.
According to Queensland Police, the alarm was raised at about 9.15 am on 18 April when the divers did not surface as expected. A search and rescue operation began shortly after 10.30 am, involving aerial and marine assets.
The search continued into the evening before being suspended overnight.
The divers were located shortly before 7 am on Sunday by an AMSA Challenger rescue aircraft, approximately 2.2 nautical miles east of Main Beach and about 14 nautical miles south of their original dive location.
AMSA said a life raft was dropped to the pair before they were recovered by a Queensland Police vessel.
‘An AMSA Challenger rescue aircraft located the two divers and dropped a life raft,’ an AMSA spokesperson said. ‘They were subsequently retrieved by a Queensland Police vessel.’
Queensland Police confirmed the men were brought ashore and transported to hospital in a stable condition.
‘Both men were winched to safety and transported for medical assessment,’ a police spokesperson said.
The incident occurred in waters off Point Lookout, a well-known dive site on North Stradbroke Island, east of Brisbane.
Weather conditions in the area at the time included moderate to rough seas, with Bureau of Meteorology data indicating southerly winds of 20-25 knots and swell reaching up to 2.5-3 metres offshore.
Local reporting identified the divers as a 43-year-old man from Robina and a 45-year-old from Victoria Point. One of the men told ABC News he had been undertaking a training dive when the pair surfaced and were unable to relocate their vessel.
‘We could see the boat, but they couldn’t see us,’ he said.
He said the pair removed their weighhts to maintain buoyancy at the surface and remained together throughout the ordeal.
The dive operator involved has not issued a public statement. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and maritime authorities are reported to be investigating the incident.
Related articles
