A BRITISH man and a 14-year-old boy are among four divers reported missing near a Malaysian island.
Authorities have launched a rescue mission after a 46-year-old Brit, two teens and a woman vanished while on a diving training exercise off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near Mersing.
Coastguard official Nurul Hizam Zakaria said Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was alerted at about 2.45pm local time (6.45amGMT).
Four divers were reported missing – a British man, 46, a 14-year-old boy, an 18-year-old French woman, and a 35-year-old Norweigan woman.
“The incident involved four foreign divers who failed to return after undergoing a diving exercise at about noon today,” Mr Zakaria said in a statement.
“The SAR operation, initiated as Op Carilamat, was activated at 2.45pm involving assets from MMEA, the Marine Police Force and the Malaysian Fisheries Department.”
The four divers were reported missing by the boat captain who took them out to sea.
They disappeared during a diving training exercise in Pulau Tokong Sanggol – a small island around nine miles from the mainland point of Mersing.
In an update, Mr Zakaria said teams are still searching for the missing group.
“A forward operating base has been set up at the Mersing District Council public jetty,” he said, reports NEw Strait Times.
“As of 4pm, none of the divers have been found.”
