Diver rescued after 20 hours lost in sea

The scuba diver is treated after being lost at sea for 20 hours. Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

A scuba diver, identified by his surname Chin, has been rescued nearly 20 hours after he became lost and drifter 66 kilometers away, Busan police said.

They said Chin and his friend Lee went out in a boat off Busan at 10 a.m. Thursday. They went diving, leaving Chin's son, 10, on board.

When the two had not returned after four hours, the son called his mother, who called police at 4:30 p.m.

A police helicopter rescued Lee, who said the two surfaced due to strong currents, but bad weather prevented them from going back to the boat.

He said Chin asked him to hang on to a buoy while he swam to bring the boat back. But Chin did not return.

Police retraced the overnight currents, but could not find him.

Luckily, a fishing boat found Chin clinging to a buoy on Friday morning.

He was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, but was otherwise healthy ― his wetsuit had maintained his temperature.