China tourists abandoned at sea on diving trip forced to make 2-hour swim to shore
- Diving test participants fear for safety as sea turns cold, weather turns and waves grow higher
An investigation into how three tourists in southern China were abandoned at sea along with their diving instructor – forcing them to swim for two hours to the nearest shore – has shocked social media.
One of the tourists, surnamed Jin, said the trio were taken by yacht to a location near Zhouzai Island in the tropical Hainan province on June 9, where they were taking a diving licence test, according to Shangyou News.
After several hours they realised the vessel would not be returning to pick them up, so they decided to try and swim back to shore before it got dark, Jin said.
Jin turned to social media because he believed the yacht company’s response to the tourists’ complaint was unacceptable and amounted to a dereliction of duty, the report said.
Jin, who is from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, said when the boat sent them to the diving spot, a member of the crew told them to swim back afterwards because they were “too busy to collect you”.
“During the conversation between our instructor and the crew member, he finally agreed to ask the captain to collect us when he made a return voyage later,” Jin was quoted as saying.
