Four European divers missing in Malaysia

Four European divers went missing off Malaysia's southeast coast on Wednesday and authorities have launched a search, the coastguard said. Two British men aged 14 and 46, an 18-year-old Frenchwoman and a 35-year-old Norwegian woman disappeared after going diving near a small island, they said. A hunt involving boats from the coastguard, the police and the fisheries department was launched at 2:45 pm, said senior coastguard official Nurul Hizam Zakaria in a statement.

The island where they disappeared, Pulau Tokong Sanggol, is about 15 kilometres, off the coast. The area is popular with foreign and domestic visitors -- there are resorts dotted along the coast and on nearby islands. Diving accidents, while rare, do occasionally take place in Malaysia. - AFP