At first, details were that the couple were part of a recreational trip for scuba diving in a Great Barrier Reef lagoon off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
They say they were left to drift in shark infested waters before being rescued 19 hours later.
After rescue and medical checkups the couple’s story and the report from the scuba diving vacation operator brought out a few discrepancies.
The Scuba Divers said they surfaced 200m from the boat.
The Dive Operator said it was a mile away.SD: The crew weren’t looking in the right direction.
DO: We instigated a full and proper search.SD: The alarm was raised after 3 hours.
DO: It was done after one hour.SD: Admitted they didn’t inflate safety balloon until after dark.
DO: Were told to inflate safety balloon if you drift out of sight.
Typically scuba diving equipment in the area would be light wet suits, but the couple wore full coverage, thick wetsuit scuba dive gear, and unusually were also carrying water bottles.
The rescue was an expensive operation involving helicopters and teams of state personnel. The couple have been offered lucrative exclusive media contracts for their story but the Queensland Premier expects they will make a generous contribution for their rescue.
Meanwhile, Queensland Police are continuing a complete investigation into the scuba diving incident.
