Thread: Six Malaysian rescue divers drown in bid to save boy

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Six Malaysian rescue divers drowned in a freak accident while searching for a boy who had gone missing in a pool at an abandoned tin mine, emergency officials said Thursday.


The 17-year-old boy had gone missing Wednesday while fishing in the pool popular with anglers in the township of Puchong west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.


Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, fire and rescue department director-general, said the divers encountered strong undercurrents that spun them around in the murky water.



Local police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said the spinning caused them to lose their diving gear.


They were pulled out of the water after 30 minutes but by then they were already unconscious, he added.


Fire chief Mohammad described the death of six officers in one day as the "worst tragedy" to hit his department.


The search for the missing youth was continuing, he said.


https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10...id-to-save-boy

Originally Posted by misskit

Local police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said the spinning caused them to lose their diving gear.


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Whaaat?

Good grief - six divers, and the kid likely dead too.

Very sad.

Why are there undercurrents in a pool at an abandoned tin mine ? Rainwater going in and swirling ?

Tragic.
Looks like the Malaysian rescue divers need some training from the Thai Navy SEALs.
Oh, wait....

That must have been some undercurrent. Perhaps a whirlpool....yet they got them out within 30 minutes. Sounds strange.

Originally Posted by Latindancer

Why are there undercurrents in a pool at an abandoned tin mine ? Rainwater going in and swirling ?

Yeah, if it was a rain-filled open cast mine there should be no currents at all. And if the current was strong enough to rip their gear off, how were they missed, searched for, and found after only 30 minutes?
I smell some tragic ineptitude with an implausible excuse.
What these divers, and possibly the Thai SEALs may have encountered difficulties with is the change from sea water to fresh water. You are much less bouyant in fresh water.

Was thinking it could be running water, but surely someone would know if there's a stream/river running through there. Might even be one of the reasons they abandoned it. Or of course no running water, shit training, same same...

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Looks like the Malaysian rescue divers need some training from the Thai Navy SEALs.

RIP.... too many lives lost....