Sydney - Two scuba divers were rescued Friday seven hours after they went missing on Australia's Great Barrier Reef off north Queensland. A search helicopter, one of five sent up when they failed to return to their dive boat an hour after entering the water near Lizard Island, spotted them and winched them out of the water.
The two United States citizens, a man and a woman in their 40s who were not a couple, were none the worse for their adventure, a police spokesman said.
Craig Stephen, operations manager at Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, told national broadcaster ABC that both were experienced divers and were carrying safety equipment.
"We feel that we did the right thing," Stephen said.
Ten years ago, US citizens Tom Longergan and Eileen Cassidy disappeared when they were left behind by their dive boat on the Barrier Reef. The mystery of their disappearance was made into a film.
