The divers — two British women and a British man, a Swedish woman and a French man — disappeared on Thursday in the treacherous waters of the Komodo National Park in the Nusa Tenggara islands east of Bali, police said.
“A rescue team from the Indonesian police and navy conducted a search this morning for the five missing foreigners but there has been no result so far,” Manggarai Barat district police chief Butje Hello said.
The Komodo National Park is a popular diving destination which is well known for spectacular coral and fishlife as well as strong currents.
The husband of one of the missing British women told AFP the search was being hampered by a lack of fuel for aircraft.
“We’ve got a big search operation happening here but we’re having trouble getting aircraft to fly because of fuel problems,” said Ernest Lewandowski, a dive master whose wife, Kathleen Mitchison, was missing.
In London the Foreign Office said it was aware of the situation.
“We are providing the appropriate consular assistance, including liaison with the local authorities in the search,” a spokeswoman said.
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