“We were on the dive site for the entire time of our allocated dive time.”

Yes, but then decided to wander off by yourselves after your "allocated dive time" was up. Talk about making a delibately ambiguous statement in order to justify their actions. I hope they pay up f the costs of the rescue

Philip, Hong Kong,

I am sure this couple were mindful of the previous incident depicted in Open Water. I am sure the boat operators were mindful of this too. I believe the operators did search dilligently, especially with others on board. I just wonder why people want to make money out of being forgetful.

Anthony Retford, Seattle, USA

As a former instructor in the whitsundays, I think the coupole are at least partly to blame. There are strict procedures, including obtaining signatures of all divers after a dive and all passengers when a boat leaves a site. A search would have begun v soon after they failed to surface.

Don, Coventry,

That 4 binoculars and a deck full of people failed to spot them 200m away flashing a safety sausage, that they were all looking in the wrong direction, is hard to believe. Diving breeds arrogance, especially among the experienced, which is how these accidents occur.

Don, Coventry,

Having said that, at Hayman Island I was involved in a search of a missing captain of a boat who is believed to have blacked out whilst trying to snorkel to the sea bed at 20m. I did a night dive search for him but he was never found. Even with the best procedures accidents do happen.

Don, Coventry,

If their own story included fear of venomous sea snakes then it was probably a setup, as they would undoubted know, being as experienced as they were, that the snakes do not bite humans and are not a threat.

neal, avon park, usa

This could be a typical of example of a dive instructor thinking he knows more than the instructor running the dive. Paying no attention to the briefing as "he knows better" as a dive master I have seen this many times. Throw in a female dive master and it just excalates the whole concept.

Charles, Geelong,

We lived in the Whitsundays . I recall several incidents where the companies 'training' and carrying tourists on so called diving expeditions failed to follow procedure and in 2 cases left behind divers(over a year long period). The second case cost 2 lives. We know what story we believe.

Amanda, Wellington, NZ