Off Micronesia's Palau, two Japanese divers survived a 30-hour drift in rough seas after their dive boat crew failed to spot them when they surfaced at the end of their dive.
According to Palau media, the divers were a 35-year-old holidaying diver and a 23-year-old divemaster, who entered the water on 5 February at the well-known Peleliu wall, about 25 miles south of Koror.
After a search by several vessels and aircraft through the night and following day, the pair were located in late afternoon by a Japanese scientific research ship about 8 miles south of Angauar, after drifting more than 15 miles. The ship's crew reportedly did well to spot the divers in 2m-high waves with breaking crests.
Upon recovery, the wetsuit-clad divers were reported to be dehydrated, cold and sunburnt, but essentially well.
Off Puerto Rico, a 40-year-old fisherman diver reportedly swam some 10 miles to reach land, after becoming separated from his diving companion and boat when the weather blew up.
The pair had entered the sea on 7 February to look for conch near Culebra island, off eastern Puerto Rico. The lost diver is reported to have ditched his weights and swum through the night in rough water to reach another island, Vieques, on which he lives.
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