The 46-year-old man and 14-year-old boy were taking part in a diving training exercise off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near the coastal town of Mersing in the country’s southeast, on Wednesday afternoon
One British man and one teenager were among the divers that went missing nine nautical miles from the coast of an island off Malaysia.
The 46-year-old man and 14-year-old boy were taking part in a diving training exercise off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, near the coastal town of Mersing in the country’s southeast, on Wednesday afternoon.
They were reported missing with a woman from France aged 18 and a woman from Norway age 35.
Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has launched a search and rescue operation.
The police, coastguard and fisheries teams set off at 2.45pm local (6.45 GMT)
The divers were reported to have been taken to a place before being reported missing by a skipper. He reported the incident the emergency services, when the group did not emerge to the surface.
Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said: “The tekong (skipper) of a boat that ferried the four foreigners to the spot made a report about the divers not surfacing after holding a diving exercise at around noon.
“The missing four are two British men and two women, a French and a Norwegian, between the ages of 14 and 46.
“At the Mersing District Council Public Jetty, a forward operating base was established.”
Pulau Tokong Sanggol, the island from which the group went missing, is around nine nautical miles (16.6km) from Tanjung Leman, Mersing.
The area is popular with foreign and domestic tourists due to its resorts dotted along the coast and nearby islands, loved for diving.
