A British man, 46, and 14-year-old boy are among four European divers reported missing off a Malaysian island.
An 18-year-old French woman and a 35-year-old Norwegian woman are also among the group, who had been diving near Pulau Tokong Sanggol in the country’s southeast, on Wednesday afternoon, 6 April.
The divers were reported missing at 2.30pm by the boat’s captain, who first took them out to sea, after they 'failed to return after undergoing a diving exercise'.
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Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) then swiftly launched a search and rescue (SAR) operation 15 minutes later at around 2.45pm local time (7.45am GMT) off the southeastern coast of Malaysia.
Boats from the coastguard, the police and the fisheries department are involved in the search.
The group are said to have been scuba diving roughly nine nautical miles (16.6km) off a beach on the small island near Tanjung Leman, Mersing.
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The area is renowned for diving and popular with visitors due to its beach-lined resorts and nearby idyllic islands.
Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said: “The tekong (skipper) of a boat that ferried the four foreigners to the spot made a report about the divers not surfacing after holding a diving exercise at around noon.
"The SAR operation, initiated as Op Carilamat, was activated at 2.45pm involving assets from MMEA, the Marine Police Force and the Malaysian Fisheries Department.
“The missing four are two British men and two women, a French and a Norwegian, between the ages of 14 and 46.
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“A forward operating base has been set up at the Mersing District Council public jetty.”
As of 4.00pm local time, the divers had still not been found, according to Mr Zakaria, The Independent reports.
While incidents like this are rare in Malaysia, the body of Karen Chong was found by local fishermen last year after she went on a diving trip near the island of Pulau Satang.
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Local media reported that the 31-year-old had been diving with a group before going off on a solo journey on the day she went missing.
Previously, a British tourist died after being hit by a passing boat’s propeller as they were diving off resort islands in the South China Sea in 2013.
Malaysia reopened its borders to foreign tourists on 1 April after two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Topics: World News
Lisa McLoughlin