KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia (6 June 2008) — Three British scuba divers are missing off the coast of eastern Indonesia. Britons Kathleen Mitchinson, Charlotte Allin and James Manning are missing along with two other divers, thought to be French and Swedish. The divers had been in the waters of the Komodo National Park, about 500km (300 miles) east of Bali. They are believed to have been swept way by the current more than 24 hours ago. There has been no sign of them despite an intensive search. Ms Mitchinson and her husband Ernest Lewandowski run a dive company in Bali called Reefseekers, and she is described on diving websites as experienced and knowledgeable. Mr Lewandowski told reporters the pair had been leading two separate groups of tourists on the dive. He noticed his wife's group was missing when his group surfaced an hour after they entered the water. "There were three boats out today searching. I was on a speedboat going around all the beaches and everything to see if they had washed up," he said. He said the search was being hampered by a lack of fuel for aircraft. The father of Ms Allin, who is from Devon, said the family were trying to stay hopeful. David Allin said: "We've heard nothing as yet. We are just trying to remain positive about the situation. "The search starts again at first light tomorrow and we are hoping to learn more then." The next of kin of the missing divers have been informed. The UK Foreign Office said it was providing consular assistance and liaising with the local authorities. A spokesman said the search operation had been called off for the evening but would resume again at first light. The islands are remote with little infrastructure, and as well as strong currents there have been high spring tides across Indonesia. | | Dive group leaker Kathleen Mitchinson, who co-owns Reefseekers Indonesia with her husband Ernest, is one of the five divers missing in Komodo National Park. John McIntyre, an experienced diver who has been to the national park, said the currents in the area can be ferocious. He told reporters: "I certainly remember thinking at the time when I was diving there that these were some of the strongest currents I'd ever dived in anywhere in the world. "The nature of the currents is that they can take you completely by surprise. "You can be diving along thinking 'this is a perfectly normal dive' and then turn a corner and all of a sudden you're being whisked off at what seems like 100mph." Komodo National Park is part of a national heritage site boasting around 1,000 fish species as well as pristine corals and sponges. It is also renowned for the largest lizard in the world, the Komodo dragon. The park is bordered by the islands of Rinca, Padar and Komodo as well as several smaller islands. |
