|
| 40 Hours Adrift |
 "I want a cold, cold drink," Ting Po-ling told himself over and over again according to The China Post. The 32-year old experienced scuba diver had been adrift in waters off of southeast Taiwan for 30 hours and his thirst had become overwhelming.
Along with seven of his friends, Ting had gone out to sea for a couple of hours of scuba diving. When it was time to head in for the day, the skipper of the yacht could not find the group. He returned to port at 11:30 in the morning on Saturday and reported the divers missing.
Ting said that he and the divers were washed away by currents. They had originally planned on going south but got stuck in a northward current. They didn't realize this for 20 minutes and, deciding to surface to get their bearings, it took them another 20 minutes to decompress and were by that time far from their boat.
A massive manhunt ensued, utilizing patrol boats, helicopters and fishing boats, but no sign of the divers was found. A rescue helicopter hovered directly over them twice, the group said, but did not spot them. "We combed the seas for hours and hours and we couldn't find them," a helicopter pilot told the China Post.
Twenty-four hours into their ordeal, they decided it would be best if someone attempted to swim to shore.
Ting started the arduous three mile swim. "My thirst kept me going," he said. He arrived onshore at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, 35 hours after being reported missing. A night fisher saw him and Ting used a cellphone to call for help. Even with his directions, rescuers had a hard time finding the group and only found them after the divers used their camera's flashes to send signals. By 2:30 a.m., five of the divers had been removed by the water. Eight hours later, the remaining two were found and rescued.
To see previous Spotlights in our new, easier to read Spotlight archive, click here, or discuss this story on our new message boards.
|
|
|
|
 "Click for larger image")