Mersing Diving Trip: British Diver Rescued Off Malaysia Says His Son Has Died At Sea
46-year-old British national Adrian Peter Chesters confirmed that his 14-year-old son Nathan Renze Chesters, who went missing off Pulau Tokong Sanggol on Wednesday, died as he was "too weak and could not survive".
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On Wednesday, 6 April, four divers went missing while diving off the coast of Mersing, Johor. A search and rescue (SAR) operation for them has now ended in tragedy with the fourth victim confirmed dead.
The group's diving instructor, 35-year-old Kristine Grodem from Norway, was the first to be rescued on 7 April. She was spotted at 8.15am by a cargo vessel, which was travelling from Indonesia to Thailand.
Following which, 46-year-old British national Adrian Peter Chesters and 18-year-old French woman Alexia Alexandra Molina were found safe by Indonesian fishermen at 1am today.
The two were found off Indonesia's Bintan island, southeast of Singapore, and some 100km south of where they went missing, according to Mersing district police chief Supt Cyril Edward Nuing.
The fourth diver, Adrian's 14-year-old son Nathan Renze Chesters, has died at sea.
Adrian confirmed that his son, who is a Dutch national, died as he was "too weak and could not survive", the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement.
In this Reuters photo, Cyril shows the photos of Adrian and Alexia, who were found safe after drifting at sea for two and a half days
Image via Ebrahim Harris/Reuters
The SAR operation will now be taken over by Indonesian authorities to look for Nathan's body as he likely drifted into their waters
"We believe there is a high likelihood that he is no longer in Malaysian waters based on the movement of sea currents, as well as the time and location where the other victims were found," Cyril told reporters.
"Our Indonesian counterpart has been informed of this matter and they will take over (the operation) in Indonesian waters. However, our assets at sea are always at the ready," he added.
Earlier, Grodem had told officials the group surfaced about an hour into their dive on Wednesday but could not find their boat:
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