British father says he watched his 14-year-old son slip away and drown after 'drug-taking' boat captain 'abandoned them at sea' on diving trip in Malaysia - before rescuers found them three days later
- Adrian Peter Chesters and Alexia Alexandra Molina were found early Saturday
- Mr Chester's son, Nathen Renze Chesters, aged 14, is believed to have drowned
- Trio were diving with Norwegian instructor Kristine Grodem off Mersing town
A 14-year-old Dutch boy who disappeared during a dive off Malaysia on Wednesday after 'being abandoned' by his 'meth-taking captain' drowned before rescuers could reach him, his heartbroken British father has revealed.
Nathen Renze Chesters was washed out to sea along with his shell engineer father Adrian Peter Chesters, 46, French woman Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, and their Norwegian instructor Kristine Grodem, 35.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency revealed today that Mr Chesters told them how he watched on in horror as his son became too weak to stay afloat and drowned.
The agency has asked authorities in Indonesia to continue searching for the body while the rescue mission in Malaysia has been called off.
The group of four had been in waters about 50 feet deep at an island off Mersing town in southern Johor state.
Mr Chesters and Ms Molina were found by rescuers and fisherman early Saturday morning in waters near Indonesia's border and have been taken to a hospital, where they are reported to be in a stable condition.
Pictures shared by rescuers appear to show Mr Chesters and Ms Molina in the moments after they are brought to shore, sitting in the back of separate vehicles.
Both are visibly suffering from sun burn, but while the teenage girl is smiling and seems relieved, Mr Chesters appears in shock and grief-stricken, having watched his son slip away just hours earlier.
The pair were found 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) north of Indonesia's Bintan Island, which is about 70 nautical miles (100 kilometers) from the location they were reported missing on Wednesday, according to Mersing police chief Cyril Edward Nuing.
Ms Grodem, meanwhile, was first rescued by a tugboat on Thursday.
It comes after the captain of the boat carrying the group was detained for further investigation Thursday over fears he may have abandoned them at sea after testing positive for methamphetamine.
Police said they would assess the dive equipment and location, adding that the captain is being investigated under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
He is also being probed for negligence.
Instructor Ms Grodem, 35, was rescued on Thursday by a tugboat.
She said the four of them surfaced safely on Wednesday afternoon but later drifted away from the boat and were separated by a strong current.
The search has moved south to where the two divers were found, Mersing maritime chief Khairul Nizam Misran said.
Two aircraft, nine boats and some 85 personnel as well as fishermen are involved in the expanded search, he said.
The boat skipper was detained for further investigation, and diving activities off Mersing have been suspended.
Ms Grodem was providing training for the other three, who were seeking to obtain advanced diving licences, maritime officials said.
Local officials had suggested they were confident the three missing persons would be found because they were 'experienced divers'.
Chesters, who is from Sheffield, had only recently moved his family to the tourist hotspot after working as the senior engineer behind Shell's highly successful Appomattox rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
District police chief Cyril Edward Nuing said on Thursday: 'Based on her [Grodem's] account, the three others managed to surface.
'With their equipment, their full gear and their experience, we believe there is a strong chance of finding them alive.'
It comes after the boat's captain was detained for further investigation after being arrested for testing positive for drugs.
Johor police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said officers arrested the man at 11.30pm on Thursday after he gave a statement to Mersing district police.
Mr Mamat said: 'He tested positive for methamphetamine use when we conducted a urine test.
'The forensics team will arrive to conduct the investigation. We will also investigate if there is any issue of negligence.'
The area where the group initially went missing from is popular among divers and tourists, with dozens of resorts dotted around the coastal area.
Diving accidents, while rare, do occasionally take place in Malaysia.
In 2013, a British tourist died when she was struck by a passing boat's propeller while diving off resort islands in the South China Sea.
The tropical Southeast Asian nation's white-sand beaches and lush rainforests have long made it a major draw, but the tourism industry was hit hard by travel curbs during Covid.
Malaysia's borders reopened to foreigners on April 1 after being closed for more than two years during the pandemic.
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2022-04-09 11:32:41Z
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