18/02/2014 09:45
Five of seven missing divers rescued, sent to Bali hospitals
Five of seven Japanese women who disappeared during a diving excursion off the Indonesian island of Bali last week were found alive and rescued Monday, Bali's search and rescue agency said, according to CNN.
Photos distributed by Getty Images showed some of the women being transferred from a boat to ambulances on Bali on Monday, three days after they were reported missing. The women were being treated at two Bali hospitals Monday, the rescue agency said.
The agency didn't immediately release details about where the women were found, their conditions or whether the survivors have said anything about what happened to them and the two divers who are still missing.
Fishermen found four of the women Monday afternoon and alerted authorities, and a rescue boat was sent for them. A fifth survivor was later found in the same area, and a search and rescue helicopter picked her up, the rescue agency said.
The seven Japanese women -- two dive instructors and five tourists -- failed to return to the surface Friday after a dive near the Indonesian islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, just southeast of Bali.
The owner of the Bali dive company Yellow Scuba told CNN that the captain who accompanied the seven hired a Yellow Scuba boat but did not work for the company.
The captain, in a written statement given to police and published in local news reports, said the weather was good when the divers entered the water.
"But about 15 minutes later, it was cloudy. I tried to find them but my efforts produced no results," the captain's statement reads.
Heavy rains were reported in the area Friday. The period from October to April is monsoon season in Bali, which sees strong winds and bursts of heavy rain.