Nöbetçi Eczaneler
The group was diving near Pulau Pangabatang in Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday, 4 October when the incident occurred.
Panga Batang is one of the outer-island dive areas of the Maumere Sea Gardens, known for sloping coral reefs and walls, but currents can be strong around parts of the island, particularly near the channel separating it from the Flores mainland.
The four tourist divers had been split into two teams, each accompanied by a local guide, with the first team, 60-year-old Dutchman, Bart Hazes, and his guide Maria Rosa Hariana Djaa, 25, surfacing as expected.
The second team, comprising Patricia Retter, 42, from Austria; Irish divers Dervla Mulligan, 28, and Darragh McKiernan, 27; and local guide Frederik Horimpun, 39, failed to return after being caught in strong currents underwater.
The alert was raised at aroung 2.10 pm, and received by the Maumere Search and Rescue Office, part of Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency Basarnas.
A search operation was launched involving Basarnas Maumere, the Indonesian Navy, East Nusa Tenggara water police, and local fishermen.
Patricia Retter was rescued at around 4.30 pm on Sunday, after Basarnas received information that local fishermen had found her in waters between Pulau Babi and Nangahale, approximately 5km from the original dive site.
Retter was taken to Nangahale to receive medical attention, while the search continued into the evening for the remaining three divers, including the use of a thermal-imaging drone to extend the search area.
The operation resumed early on Monday morning until around 9 am, when rescuers found Mulligan and McKiernan alive and floating at sea approximately 5.9km from the location where the group had disappeared.
The search and rescue mission coordinator Fathur Rahman, head of Basarnas Maumere, told Detik Bali that both divers were still using their scuba equipment when rescuers reached them.
‘The two victims were found floating. They were healthy, just exhausted,’ he said, adding that they had remained afloat using their dive gear.
Just five minutes after the Irish divers were found, an Indonesian police vessel located their guide, Frederik Horimpun alive, approximately 7.8km from the original incident location.
Strong currents were reported in the area at the time of the incident and were cited by Basarnas as a significant factor in both the separation of the group and the subsequent search operation.
There has been no indication that any of the divers suffered serious injury, and Basarnas formally ended the search and rescue operation on Monday morning.
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