Dutch boy, 14, among three missing off Malaysian coast
A 14-year-old Dutch boy is one of three people who went missing while scuba diving off the coast of Malaysia on Wednesday. Their diving instructor, a 35-year-old woman from Norway, was found safe by rescue teams a day after their disappearance, local newspaper The Star reported.
The Dutch boy, a 46-year-old man from Britain, an 18-year-old girl from France, and the Norwegian diving instructor disappeared while on a diving trip near Pulau Tokong Sanggol on Wednesday.
"The skipper of a boat that ferried the four foreigners reported them missing to authorities after they failed to surface," Nurul Hizam Zakaria of the Johor Bahru Maritime Rescue Sub Center said to the newspaper. Emergency services were called in at around 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday.
Rescue teams found the Norwegian woman alive and brought her to a hospital at around noon on Thursday. The Star did not say where the woman was found.
Rescue workers are still looking for the other three missing persons.
Following their disappearance, the Johor Ruler called for diving activities to be temporarily halted. "I want all diving activities in the waters of Mersing to be temporarily halted until we know for sure what happened to the unfortunate divers," said Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar. "We cannot allow diving to continue if safety measures are compromised."
