national

5 Japanese divers found alive; 2 still missing off Bali

55 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© 2014 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

55 Comments
Login to comment

Sooner or later we are going to hear the survivors saying 'The boat was nowhere to be found when we surfaced'.

@m6bob: so what exactly do you expect them to say? "It wasn't there, but we never expected it to be still hanging around - we'd been gone ages!"

Of course they are going to say it was not there when they surfaced - it was not there. Go ahead, punish them for being predicatable.

The weather turning bad & murky water was just an excuse not to be where the boatman was supposed to be waiting. Not sure what you are getting at here.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

An interesting thing to mention about Bali is that sometimes when spiritual protocol lapses strange things happen here... Balinese businesses always pray, or bless their journeys... Just an interesting observation because some overseas businesses may not prioritize that in the same way? Maybe this one did too, hopefully it did... and that may be evident in the rescue..., Just saying it's another perspective, as this place is extremely spiritual and works that way in everyday life. In comparison to other places in the world, we must acknowledge it...

...and OBVIOUSLY the prayers of everyone have been heard for survival of those strong, beautiful ladies... so let's keep praying for the other two...

'kin 'ell

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'd forgotten it was the full moon. Yes, put that in with the bad weather and they shouldn't have been diving at that spot. It also seems obvious there were boat issues too.

As for the dive operators in Bali, most that I know will make an offering just before they leave the Sanur reef for the ride over to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. They buy some and float them on the water just before they leave. Some operators even float another offering on the water after the divers go down.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope the other 2 will be found hanging on to some other remote rock cliff. If they are still in the sea, there is hardly a chance they are still alive.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

An interesting thing to mention about Bali is that sometimes when spiritual protocol lapses strange things happen here... Balinese businesses always pray, or bless their journeys... Just an interesting observation because some overseas businesses may not prioritize that in the same way? Maybe this one did too, hopefully it did... and that may be evident in the rescue..., Just saying it's another perspective, as this place is extremely spiritual and works that way in everyday life. In comparison to other places in the world, we must acknowledge it...

...and OBVIOUSLY the prayers of everyone have been heard for survival of those strong, beautiful ladies... so let's keep praying for the other two...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The remaining lost divers are facing dehydration and hypothermia problems. Jan is right, the boat operator made a fatal error in thinking he could get petrol and return to find them in such poor conditions. Fact is, at full moon on that dive spot, they should not even have gone diving. Bad decisions add up to bad situations.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Cool.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Sooner or later we are going to hear the survivors saying 'The boat was nowhere to be found when we surfaced'. The weather turning bad & murky water was just an excuse not to be where the boatman was supposed to be waiting.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Would also like to mention that the first paragraph of this story is wrong. They weren't found "clinging to a coral reef" but clinging to rocks at the foot of a cliff. Nobody could survive four days IN the water!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

See AKB? Seems sometimes miracles do sometimes happen.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I've done a lot of diving in Bali and know the site where they began, Crystal Bay, as well as Manta Point, where they were found. The currents in Bali can be very tricky and I've had a couple of scary dives there. Crystal is one of the more dangerous dive sites and almost every year somebody dies there. I'm curious about the place they were diving, which is on the outer edge of the Crystal site and not the usual dive location, and likely to have had worse currents than the usual tricky Crystal ones. Manta Point is one of the last places before the open sea so they were lucky or smart to get ashore there.

I think part of the problem may have been an error in judgment to dive at that site at all in bad weather - I've gone out to Crystal numerous times when we didn't dive there because the divemasters thought it wasn't safe - and part the behavior of the boat captain. One of the news reports I read said the boat was "rented" by the dive shop, which implies that it isn't their own. The shop I use in Bali has their own boats with their own well-trained crew, but I have dived under similar circumstances and the quality of the safety is definitely different. I also dive in Sanur and have never heard of this shop, so I suspect it's rather new and may not yet have enough money to have their own trained crew and boat. I hope the other two are found alive as well.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The boat shouldn't leave the area for any reason. In the event that one of the divers got into difficulty, standard protocol would be that the instructor would take them to the surface back to the boat. It seems that many on here are quick to blame the divers because they're Japanese but you don't leave a group of people underwater.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Sounds like a terrible communication or rule violation. But by which party? There has to be scuba protocol for divers and boats to stay in contact. Things will become clearer now that there are survivors.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hoping for the other 2.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What can I say here. Probably the best answer would be: eigaka kettei!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

For those of you dissing "third world Bali" I dive in Bali as well. Usually use PAPA's dive shop. One thing for sure, they are very professional and take all safety precautions. There are lots of dives daily in Bali. This is actually the first incident I've heard of. I go to Bali every other year. It's a great vacation spot.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Great news!!!!! (My husband is scheduled to go to Bali on Thursday....) Hope the remaining two can be found asap!!!!!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@ Elbudo Mexicano

THERE GOES YOUR RANSOM THEORY!! So quick to make judgements now you are quiet as a mouse!! I hope the other young ladies are found!!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I'm glad that five of them were found. It's warm water, the other two could still be out there waiting. Hope that's how it works out.

Exactly.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I'm glad that five of them were found. It's warm water, the other two could still be out there waiting. Hope that's how it works out.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Hawkeye: Lucky so far. Sounds like a mistake to take on some third world boat and boat captain without checking out the equipment, fuel supplies and what to do in an emergency drill since he is their only lifeline to getting back alive.

The weather could be the major problem too. The skipper has tried to search the divers with no luck and then he contacted travel agent and they has contacted local police to search the divers. After thar they contact sector police. I have read the news at the office on Friday, so I think it has reached local media about noon. According local media in Indonesia, they have already met standard procedure. Just the weather went unpredictable.

Hawkeye: Why do we hear so often that Japanese tourists go abroad, have serious problems or accidents and die more so than non Japanese?

Because u read JT? Just a thought

Hawkeye: Hope the other divers are found alive and all go back home safely but don't repeat this type of foolhardy adventure again.

Maybe next time bring male divers. It's too dangerous to hear all females divers suddenly disappeared.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Why do we hear so often that Japanese tourists go abroad, have serious problems or accidents and die more so than non Japanese?

Could be because this you're checking out Japanese news sites.

13 ( +12 / -0 )

Why do we hear so often that Japanese tourists go abroad, have serious problems or accidents and die more so than non Japanese?

We don't hear it happening to Japanese more than non-Japanese. I'm not sure where you are getting your news.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Lucky so far. Sounds like a mistake to take on some third world boat and boat captain without checking out the equipment, fuel supplies and what to do in an emergency drill since he is their only lifeline to getting back alive. Why do we hear so often that Japanese tourists go abroad, have serious problems or accidents and die more so than non Japanese? Hope the other divers are found alive and all go back home safely but don't repeat this type of foolhardy adventure again.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Usually if drown at the sea, the body will come out around 2x24 hours. This time has already pass that, so possibility of survive is higher than dead. I've never heard people died by hunger in Indonesia. So many source of food can be consume there. I hope the two of them could be found too.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

All let just say its a miracle, even though we may have had our doubts when the seven were missing, there is two more still out there lets just hope for a safe return and keep this positive. Wow they are tough!!!!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I have to say I am surprised and very thankful that five of the seven have been found alive, and I hope the other two are as well. As with Graham and others, I was pretty sure we would hear of bodies being found, or of nothing being found at all, and also as with him, I am glad to be proven wrong. Tough ladies indeed (as ReformedBasher said). Fingers crossed they find the other two alive as well.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

be carefull

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Amazing news. That's great. Hope they all get found.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Very tough ladies. I'm very happy to hear they were found. Hope the others will be too.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Underwater trackable gps systems should be worn by divers to ensure this accident does not occur again

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Happy that these people were found and I really hope the others will be found.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Hope they find the others...

5 ( +5 / -0 )

This comes as a somewhat pleasant surprise. I was expecting seven bodies to be found. The death of any one person is a tragedy, but to find some survivors when you expected none . . .

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If the skipper left them in those conditions because he miscalculated fuel requirements then he needs to be held accountable.Apparently he already lied to the Police in an attempt to cover up his mistake. Lets hope the 2 young women instructors are found alive.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Wonderful news! Fingers (and toes!) crossed for the remaining pair!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

seems like the skipper is to blame...

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Super news!!! Hopefully, the rest will be found alive and possibly only a little sunburned.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Lost in the ocean then found, thats great in any case.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Really GREAT news! I was sure they were lost. I am very happy to be proven wrong.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Wow, that's incredible. They will have an amazing story to tell. Let's hope they find the others too.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Finding the 4 should help them find the other 3 as info can be used to estimate drift, etc.

Hoping the rest are found safe too.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

surely this should have the word "the bodies of" in the title? missing since Friday will almost inevitable mean that they are no longer with us.

Silly comment. If 4 can survive until Monday (missing since Friday), it does not mean that they other 3 are already dead. It has only just turned Tuesday!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Wow, that's very good news. So they'd been in the water the whole time?

I hope they find the remaining two safe.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

According to the latest news another Japanese diver was found alive making the total five. (Yomiuri Shinbun).

6 ( +6 / -0 )

4 days without food won't kill you Rickyvee and AKBfan. Dehydration might. If they've been continuing to have little squalls, they may have been able to catch some limited rain water. I hope they find the others quickly.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

AKBfan said: surely this should have the word "the bodies of" in the title? missing since Friday will almost inevitable mean that they are no longer with us.

Good news. Four divers have been found alive which means there's still hope for the other three.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

i have to agree with AKBfan. after four days in the ocean with no drinking water and food, this is no longer a search and rescue operation but a search and find operation. it's a terribly tragic story.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

It was not that the divers didn't resurface, it was that the skipper didn't appear at the meeting spot. Looks like that was what happened.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Agree with Laguna, they would have dropped their weight belts and used their BC. Most common reason for a diver dying is panicking, plus with their experience they would used the buddy system.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Didn't mean to be insensitive. Just think 4 days out alone with no food or water makes it a long shot that they might be alive and well.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

It was negligence for the boat operator to leave without enough fuel for the trip. IF he had to leave during the dive to refuel it is most likely his fault as otherwise he could and should have followed the bubbles of the diver.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

That was a rather insensitive thing to say, AKBfan. BCs (buoyancy compensators) make drowning a very rare event for scuba divers; most deaths are due to other factors such as heart attacks; it is unlikely such an event would strike all seven at once. Also, much has been made of possible downwelling conditions at the dive spot, but again, no downwelling is able to counteract a functional BC.

The fact that no trace of any of them has been found instead offers hope that surface conditions prevented them from rendezvousing with their boat and that they instead chose to seek shelter somewhere likely uninhabited.

13 ( +12 / -0 )

surely this should have the word "the bodies of" in the title? missing since Friday will almost inevitable mean that they are no longer with us.

-34 ( +4 / -36 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites