Four Foreign Divers Found Safe After Samae San Rescue
Four foreign divers missing off Chonburi's Samae San were found safe Friday night after reaching Nam Sai Beach; they had been caught in strong currents during a technical dive training exercise.
CHONBURI — Four foreign divers who went missing during a technical diving exercise off Samae San in Chonburi were found safe on Friday night after managing to reach shore at Nam Sai Beach.
The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center Region 1 was alerted at 16:35 on 14 August after the captain of a boat carrying the group reported that four divers had failed to return from a dive near Ko Rong Khon and Ko Rong Nang, off Samae San in Sattahip district. The dive site is about eight nautical miles from U-Tapao Airport.
The group, led by British diver Gary Philips, entered the water at around 14:30 and had been expected to return to the rendezvous point at about 15:15. When they failed to surface as scheduled and no surface marker was seen, the boat captain began searching and requested assistance from the Naval Special Warfare Command. Two of the missing divers were instructors and the other two were students. They had entered the water in instructor-student buddy pairs for technical diving training at a depth of around 40 to 50 metres.
One additional vessel was unable to join the search from the Sattahip Bay side because of strong winds and rough seas. Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center Region 1 deployed a Royal Thai Navy aircraft to search from the air and coordinated with authorities in Chonburi, fishing-vessel control officials, naval radio networks and maritime rescue groups. Fishing vessels operating nearby were also asked to watch for the missing divers.
Authorities said the dive site lies in a deep-water channel with naturally strong currents. On Friday, the tide reached a low of 0.91 metres at 11:12 before rising to 3.02 metres at 19:36. The divers entered the water while the tide was rising, when currents in the area were relatively strong. Another diver who remained aboard the boat as an assistant to the captain said the two instructors were physically fit and highly experienced at sea. He believed they could potentially have fought the current and reached one of the nearby islands.
As conditions remained difficult after dark, authorities had been preparing to resume a larger search at first light. However, at about 20:50, a team on Samae San reported that all four missing divers had been found after making their way through the water to Nam Sai Beach. All four were reported safe, allowing authorities to end the search and rescue operation.
