Antigua Nightmare

Thursday, August 30, 2007
Dive boat left 2 Brits to sharks

Killlers of the Caribbean ... the waters off Antigua are home to great
white, tiger and bull sharks

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By VIRGINIA WHEELER
August 30, 2007


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TWO British divers were abandoned for FIVE hours in shark-infested
waters after instructors failed to notice they were missing.

The terrified pair, holidaying in Antigua, drifted for miles in the
Caribbean after the party left the site for LUNCH without them.

The group even continued to scuba dive elsewhere in the afternoon —
not realising the men were missing until their wives searched for them
when the boat arrived back at the dock.


Horror ... film Open Water


One diver became panic-stricken when he suddenly realised the incident
mirrored the 2003 horror movie Open Water.

In that film, a dive couple were eaten by sharks after being left
stranded in the water.

The men, one “crying like a baby”, were bleeding from beingswept into
razor-sharp coral reefs in waters that are home to great white, tiger
and bull sharks.

One was saved by helicopter and the other by a rescue boat from the
choppy waters whipped up by Hurricane Dean.

They were miles from their original dive spot on Cades Reef, having
been in the water for up to five hours — and they were on the vergeof
drowning.

Chopper pilot Gregory Scott, 47, said he was “amazed” the two
survived, adding: “Nothing excuses a qualified diving team returning
to dock without realising they are missing two people.”

The Brits — known to dive pals only as Ian and Colin — wererushed to
hospital. Rescuers described student diver Ian as “badly burnt and
passing in and out of consciousness” when he was found.

Bosses of the dive crew, operated by the Sandals Grande Antigua
Resort, immediately fired four staff but have reportedly reinstated
two. Furious rescuers yesterday slammed the dive team as
“breathtakingly irresponsible”.

Scuba ... divers used a Sandals boat

Pilot Gregory added: “Ian was a mess when he was pulled to safety. He
was crying like a baby and covered in stings and cuts. He thought he
was going to die.

“He remembered the film Open Water and thought he would be eaten.”
Gregory claimed he was told the Sandals dive team had not carried out
the proper head-count procedures.

He said: “Lax isn’t the word — these men are lucky to survive.”

The tour party was made up of 13 guests, one dive instructor and two
dive masters. A fellow diver said: “The 30-minute dive was cut short
and the boat moved to calmer water for lunch.

“No one noticed anyone was missing but that’s the instructors’ job.
There was no head-count.

“When we docked, two women asked where their husbands were. The colour
drained from the faces of the instructors.”

Sandals, which operates resorts throughout the Caribbean, yesterday
refused to comment.