JAKARTA – Efforts to locate a Dutch teen diver feared dead after disappearing in waters off Lagoi, Bintan, Riau Islands are being continued by the Indonesian search and rescue agency.
According to media reports in Malaysia, Nathan Renze Chesters, 14, was among four people reported missing in the waters off Pulau Tokong Sanggol, about nine nautical miles from Tanjung Leman, Mersing, last Wednesday.
His father, Adrian Peter Chesters, 46, a British national who was also missing in the incident before he was found safe, said his son had died because he had become too weak and could not survive at sea.
However, Mersing police chief Cyril Edward Nuing said Nathan’s fate was still unknown and his department would consider the victim missing until found.
The head of the Tanjungpinang National Search and Rescue Agency, Slamet Riyadi, was reported by local media yesterday as saying that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency had requested for assistance in monitoring and continuing the search for the victim.
The search operation is currently being carried out by a joint team including the Indonesian navy, the Marine Security Agency, the Riau Marine Police and the Bintan Fishermen’s Association, he said.
Norwegian diving coach Kristine Grodem, 35, was found safe last Thursday while Adrian and Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, a French national, were found on Saturday in Indonesian waters. – Bernama, April 12, 2022
