Divers reported missing off Santubong coast

0

SANTUBONG: A search-and-rescue operation was mounted last night after two Japanese citizens and a local man were reported missing following a deep-sea diving trip near here.

District police chief ACP Mun Kock Keong confirmed that a re port of the missing divers was made and that a search-and-rescue operation involving the police and relevant rescue agencies had already been mounted.

According to Mun, the three divers went to a popular site of a sunken Japanese World War II ship and had made several successful dives throughout the day.

“The trio failed to surface on their last dive, and their boatman waited for some time before making his way back to shore and lodging a police report,” he said, adding the weather condition was worsening at the time and the boat was also running low on fuel.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed that the missing men were a 52-year-old local and two Japanese citizens aged 39 and 40.

Their identities, however, were not made available.

They were said to have departed at 8am on Saturday to the site located about 16 nautical miles from the coast of Santubong.

Mun also disclosed that the police are coordinating with various rescue agencies, including the Fire Department, Civil Defence Department and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in conducting a search-and-rescue operation.