Diver found off Malaysia says his teenage son died while they were adrift

Malaysian island Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near where the four went missing, photo by Globe Today.

One of the four missing divers who has now been found off Malaysia yesterday told the Malaysian coastguard his son, a 14 year old boy, died while they were adrift. The man, 46 year old Adrian Chesters, said his teenage son Nathen Chesters had become too weak to survive. A statement by the coastguard cited Adrian…

“…as a result of being too weak … was unable to survive”.

The Indonesian authorities are now expected to continue the search for Nathen’s body. Police earlier said the search for the boy had been called off after they concluded he had floated into Indonesian waters, and they had notified their counterparts in neighbouring countries.

The other divers were rescued last Thursday and yesterday (Saturday). They are 35 year old Kristine Grodem, a Norwegian national, and 18 year old Alexia Molina, a French national. Adrian Chesters is a UK national, while his son Nathen was a Dutch national.

The group first went missing on Wednesday after diving near the small island of Pulau Tokong Sanggol. After diving for about 40 minutes, Grodem said the group surfaced from their dive but were unable to see their boat, and that the currents then separated them. Police said the boat operator who took the group to the dive site was detained after testing positive for drugs.

The divers disappeared two days after Malaysia reopened its borders on April 1. Malaysia’s immigration department said more than 55,000 foreigners entered the country in the first four days since the border opened.

SOURCE: BBC | Reuters

World News

Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.

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