Diver 'swept away' from group

Nikkii Joyce -

A 63-year-old Swiss diver says surf conditions swept him away from his group causing a three hour air and sea search off the Sunshine Coast today.

The man, half-dressed in his wetsuit, smiled and shared his relief to be back on dry land when water police brought him back to their station at Mooloolaba just after 2pm.

“Yes, it was a long swim,” the international visitor said when asked of his relief at being found.

“I just got carried away with the waves and got caught up in the current,” he said.

“I saw the boat there and I just ended up getting lost.”

The man said he had been travelling by himself and was an experienced diver.

Police said Scubaworld, from Mooloolaba, alerted them of the missing diver at 11.30am this morning.

A rescue helicopter has been tasked to the dive site from Bundaberg, according to police.

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