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British tourist, 63, fears after disappearing while snorkeling with wife in Bali
- The 68-year-old went missing in the waters of Blue Lagoon Beach in Karangasem
- His wife was concerned when he failed to return to the coast on Wednesday afternoon
- Last night at 8:25 pm a search and rescue operation was launched
- Operations continued today, but the man has yet to be found
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A search and rescue operation is currently underway for a British elderly person who was dragged into the sea with his wife snorkeling in Bali yesterday afternoon.
The 68-year-old man went missing while snorkeling with his wife in the pristine waters of the Blue Lagoon Beach resort in the Karangasem regency in Bali, Indonesia.
His panicked wife, who also remains unnamed, informed local authorities of his disappearance around 5:30 p.m., an hour after she reportedly emerged from the indigo-blue waters of the beach herself and began waiting for her husband’s return.
A search and rescue operation for the British national began a few hours later at 8:25 p.m., according to Karangasem Search and Rescue Team coordinator Gusti Ngurah Eka Widnyana.
Rescue teams search for a 68-year-old British tourist in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. The victim left with his wife to go snorkeling and she alerted authorities when her husband failed to return to the beach
Image shows Blue Lagoon Beach in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, where the elderly man was snorkeling
“The search for the victim is still being carried out by a joint team,” Widnyana said this morning.
“So far the victim has not been found.”
Widnyana initially sent six rescue team members to the area in a speedboat to look for the older man.
Gede Darmada, the head of the Bali Basarnas government office, told local media today that the search area for the missing British subject has since been divided into three sectors to increase the chances of finding the man.
He added: “Yesterday’s search yielded no results and today the search and rescue operation started this morning.
Widnyana, meanwhile, said he hopes the elderly person will be found as soon as possible, while local media officials had encouraged snorkelers to be mindful of Bali’s ever-changing weather conditions.
The incident comes after a 44-year-old Italian woman who miraculously survived being washed up in the sea after being hit by a powerful wave on Indonesia’s Klungkung beach in June.
A search and rescue operation for the British subject began around 8.25pm last night after his wife reported him missing earlier that afternoon
Tourism in Bali is returning after Covid-19, and foreign arrivals are expected to reach pre-pandemic levels of six million by 2025, according to the island’s tourism association.
The island is now trying to attract more tourists and workers to its tropical coasts by offering a more flexible visa, the country’s tourism minister said.
In recent years, some Asian holiday destinations have seen an influx of ‘digital nomads’, or long-term visitors from abroad, who combine travel and recreation with remote work.
Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno said in a post on his Instagram account that digital nomads can now visit Indonesia and work for up to six months with a socio-cultural visa.
“I am increasingly convinced that the number of foreign tourists interested in staying in Indonesia will increase and will automatically have an impact on the economic recovery,” he said.