- Female Chinese diver stranded 40 minutes in Maldives due to faulty equipment and poor guidance
- Diving instructor ignored safety standards, used backup regulator for broken oxygen tank
- No safety signal device deployed; instructor waved hands to signal boats hundreds of metres away
A female Chinese diver was left to fend for herself during a diving trip in the Maldives, with the hotel responsible for the excursion unwilling to hold accountability or issue an apology. On September 1, Xu Man, a certified Chinese diver with nine years of experience, faced a survival ordeal as a combination of faulty equipment and an 'unprofessional' instructor meant she stayed adrift in the sea for 40 long minutes.
According to a report in South China Morning Post, Ms Xu booked a diving package with Plumeria Diving and Watersports Centre, a highly recommended resort, alongside her friend Zhang Li. Trouble began before the dive even started. Ms Zhang's oxygen tank had a broken primary regulator, a critical piece of equipment. Instead of replacing it, the instructor casually advised her to use the backup regulator, ignoring international safety standards.
During the dive, the instructor failed to deploy an important device that signals a diver's location to boats. Instead, he waved his hand, hoping to catch the dive boat's attention, which was hundreds of meters away.
Strong underwater currents pushed the group further from the dive site, with Ms Xu getting submerged in the water repeatedly.
"At that point, we had drifted so far that we could no longer see the dive boat or even nearby islands. Towards the end of the drift, I had a terrible feeling that we might die out there," she said.
In a desperate move, Ms Xu suggested tying the device to her selfie stick to make it more visible. Fortunately, a fishing boat spotted the makeshift signal and rescued the group at 2:16 pm local time, 40 minutes after they had gone into the water.
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Despite reporting the incident to the hotel, Ms Xu received no apology but a $20 discount, while Ms Zhang was charged full price. Ms Xu shared her story on Chinese social media, sparking widespread outrage.
She filed complaints with Maldivian tourism authorities and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, but no progress has been made so far. The hotel was briefly delisted from booking platforms but has reappeared under a new name.
"What worries me most is that the hotel does not seem to understand the gravity of what happened. If they do not take this seriously, other tourists could face the same life-threatening risks," said Ms Xu.
