Adrian Chesters, 46, reportedly told the Malaysian Coast Guard that Nathan’s son, a Dutch national, had died while at a dead end. After a dive off the coast of Mersing, in the southern state of Johor, on Wednesday, the group surfaced but failed to find its boat. Fishermen spotted Chesters, along with 18-year-old Frenchwoman Alexia Molina, off the coast of neighboring Indonesia. They were rescued by the maritime police on Saturday after they sailed about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from where they had sunk and were transported back to Malaysia. Nathan died before he could be rescued, Chesters told officials, with a Coast Guard statement saying his father had died “as a result of being too weak; he could not survive.” Chester and Molina were taken to a Malaysian hospital in stable condition, according to local police. The team’s diving instructor, 35-year-old Norwegian Kristin Grondem, was rescued on Thursday in open waters of southern Malaysia. Grondem was training the other three, who were hoping to obtain advanced diving licenses, shipping officials said. Grodem said they were separated by strong currents. Malaysian police have stopped searching for the 14-year-old after concluding that he had been abducted in Indonesian waters, informing their counterparts in the neighboring country. Malaysia has used helicopters, planes, boats, divers and jet skiers to explore a vast area in recent days. Indonesian authorities are expected to continue the search for the teenager’s body. The divers were on an excursion near a small island, Tokong Sanggol, about 15 kilometers off the southeast coast of Malaysia when the incident occurred. After diving for about 40 minutes, the team came to the surface, but could not locate its boat. They separated after being dragged along in the strong currents. The alarm sounded when they failed to return to the dive for about an hour. The captain of the boat that took the team to the dive site was arrested after testing positive for drugs, police said. Offshore diving has been suspended off the coast of Mersing, where many popular diving sites are located. The incident came days after Malaysia reopened its border to foreign visitors on April 1st.
