28 Oct 2008:
Left-behind diver was swimming for 12 hours
Left-behind diver was swimming for 12 hours
A German tourist was fighting for his life for about 12 hours in shark-infested waters off Fiji near Vanua Levu, after their daily diving trip went wrong.
Thomas Holz, 40, the citizen of Berlin in Germany, considers himself as a lucky man to have survived the strong currents of Somosomo Strait between Taveuni and Vanua Levu.
The dive went wrong after twenty-five minutes when he surfaced for air after exhausting his oxygen supply. His dive master asked him to hold on where he was and then dived for the remaining three divers who had also run out of oxygen. Because the currents were too strong mr Holz couldn't swim for the boat which was about 100 feet away. A few minutes later the dive master resurfaced with the rest of the group but Mr Holz was nowhere to be found.
Mr Holz told the Fiji Times he lost sight of the group and the dive boat. We was able to hear the sound of the boat engine but it was far away and he could hardly see through the dark. The diver decided to swim slowly to balance his energy.
"I could see lights at a place in Vanua Levu but was worried if I swam for it I would wash up in an isolated place with no one around to help so I swam for Taveuni which, although further off, was more populated," he said.
He was thinking about his family in Germany and it kept him swimming.
"Even though I was tired, I hung on to the air tank and kept swimming. Then early this morning (yesterday), I felt the seabed and just screamed out for help before I collapsed on the shore."
Luckaly a local woman at Wairiki heard Mr Holz's shout for help and rushed to the shore and helped him.
At present Mr Holz feels fine and says although the experience was scary, it was something he won't forget.
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