▲ Snorkeling (The photo above is not related to the article contents.)
A South Korean tourist has been missing for a month after going snorkeling off an island near Bali, Indonesia, leaving her family searching for her whereabouts.
According to local media outlets such as Antara News and The Bali Times on the 6th (local time), a 31-year-old South Korean woman, identified as A, went missing on October 6 off the coast of Gili Trawangan Island near Lombok, near Bali.
A was snorkeling with friends off the island's northern coast, an area famous for sea turtle sightings, when she briefly separated from her companions around 12:30 p.m. to see a sea turtle.
A witness reported seeing A swimming normally or floating on the water without any apparent difficulty.
However, when her companions returned to the shore around 2:00 p.m. and noticed A was missing, her companions and local residents conducted an initial search.
Local rescue teams, along with the Indonesian Navy and Coast Guard who received the missing person report, mobilized high-speed boats to intensively search the surrounding waters, conducting both surface and underwater searches starting the day after she went missing.
However, after an eight-day search that even utilized drones yielded no results, local authorities have suspended the official search.
A's family has offered a reward of 50 million rupiah (approx. 3.75 million won) and posted posters on social media featuring images of A at the time of her disappearance to gather tips regarding her whereabouts.
Park Tae-soon, president of the Lombok Korean Association who is assisting with the search operations, stated, "Because there are continuous currents in those waters, if you just float, you are bound to drift out to sea," adding, "It breaks my heart that similar accidents happen once or twice every year."
Park advised, "Even people who are skilled at swimming and diving often meet with accidents while snorkeling alone," emphasizing the necessity of being accompanied by a guide and wearing a life jacket.
However, the exact circumstances of the disappearance, including whether A was actually swept away by currents, have not yet been confirmed.
Gili Trawangan Island is a popular snorkeling and diving spot, and is widely known in South Korea as the filming location for the TV variety show "Youn's Kitchen."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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