2 Divers Found Nearly 24 Hours After Going Missing in the Pacific Ocean
2 Divers Found Nearly 24 Hours After Going Missing in the Pacific Ocean
Escher WalcottMon, April 20, 2026 at 11:55 AM UTC
0
Stu Fillman (right) was one of two divers rescued after 22 hours in the ocean in AustraliaCredit: Queensland Police; ABC News (Australia) -
Two divers were swept miles away from their boat by a strong current during a technical scuba diving course in Queensland, Australia
Rescue teams located the men 14 nautical miles from their initial location after nearly 24 hours in the ocean
The divers survived by tying themselves together, staying warm in drysuits, and discarding heavy gear to avoid drifting apart
Two divers have been rescued after more than 20 hours of being stranded in the ocean near Queensland, Australia.
At around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 18, the police were alerted that two divers were missing in the waters of Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, after failing to return to their boat, according to the Queensland Police.
The divers were identified as 43-year-old Stu Fillman and his 45-year-old diving instructor by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Several agencies assisted with the search, including the Brisbane Water Police, Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) and Coast Guard. The Queensland Police confirmed that the divers were finally rescued on Sunday, April 19.
“Just before 7 a.m. this morning, the AMSA Melbourne-based Challenger aircraft jet located the two men about 2.2 nautical miles east of Main Beach, about 14 nautical miles south of their initial location, and deployed a life raft to them,” said the police.
Rescue footage released by the authorities shows the Water Police driving their boat toward the divers sitting in the life raft in the middle of the ocean.
"Boy, are we glad to see you guys," one of the divers says as they are helped out of the raft and onto the boat.
Fillman told ABC that he was on a technical scuba diving course with his diving instructor when a current suddenly swept them miles away from the dive company's boat.
Advertisement
"We could see the boat … but by that time we had drifted far enough," he said. "Unless both of us had been on the top of waves, it would have been impossible to see us.”
Two divers were saved after spending 22 hours missing in the ocean in Queensland, AustraliaCredit: Queensland Police
Fillman's fitness watch showed that the pair had drifted about 10 kilometers in two hours.
"During the first few hours, I was pretty confident we would be picked up quickly,” he told ABC. “Through the afternoon, the search aircraft came quite close three times. The worst part was we worried they would consider that area searched, and move on to somewhere else."
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Fillman and his diving instructor tapped into their survival instincts by dumping their heavy diving gear and tanks and tying themselves together with their remaining gear to prevent them from drifting apart. The pair also kept warm wearing their drysuits, per ABC.
"That's probably the biggest factor in me being here today," said Fillman. "We weren't concerned about extreme hypothermia or anything; it was a matter of waiting, and if we got close enough to shore, swimming in."
The two men were airlifted from the water and sent to the Gold Coast University Hospital for checks but have since returned home.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Queensland Police for further comment.
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
