The divers, six men and two women, had been diving in a group of 12 last Saturday morning, from a boat near Chihsingyen (Seven Star Rock), about 12 miles south-west of Kenting, in the southern county of Pingtung.
The site, on the edge of a national marine park, is popular with divers, with unpolluted coral reefs and rich marine life. But it is known for a sometimes-treacherous current, the Kuroshio Current, which has claimed a number of lives in recent years.
The boat skipper is reported to have said that windy conditions and strong currents prevented recovery of the divers. When only four returned to the boat as planned, the alarm was raised, at around midday.
Searches were organised by coastguard units in Pingtung and neighboring Kaohsiung County, involving six National Airborne Service helicopters, seven patrol boats and two sport fishing boats hired by the divers' relatives.
A number of commercial fishing boats also took part, possibly encouraged by the reported offer from the skipper of a NT$100,000 (about ?1700) reward for each diver successfully spotted.
The eight divers, described as experienced with five holding instructor qualifications, were finally located nearly 50 miles north of the dive site - after a heroic, 10-hour swim to shore by their senior instructor.
Ting Po-ling managed to land at Taimali late on Sunday night and, working to his description, rescuers were able to identify a more accurate search area.
Five of the divers were plucked to safety at dawn on Monday, a helicopter crewman describing how the rescuers had spotted a number of flashing lights, grouped together, during the last of the darkness. The other three were located and airlifted at about 11am.
Before his strike for shore, Po-ling had split the divers into two groups, telling them to stay together, holding hands, while they waited for rescue. The divers were described as being conscious but exhausted when found, suffering from hypothermia and sunburn. They were all hospitalised.
The China Post named the divers as Ting Po-ling, 32; Hung Yu-sheng, 29; Wang Chih-yu, 25; Wang Shun-ping, 28; Tu Ting-chang, 38; Kuo Chun-hsien, 38; Lee Su-ling, 44; and Liu Hui-chun, 28. |
