Stranded Divers Fend Off Komodo Dragon

Divers Drifted In Current For 12 Hours Before Encountering Lizard On Indonesian Island

(CBS/AP)  European scuba divers swept away in strong currents survived 12 hours in shark-infested waters and then scrambled onto a remote Indonesian island where they faced yet another threat: a Komodo dragon.

The divers - three from Britain and one each from France and Sweden - came face-to-face with the giant, carnivorous lizard on Rinca island's palm-fringed beach.

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports the divers say one of the dragons - which reach ten-feet in length and weigh more than 360 pounds - repeatedly approached. Already exhausted, the divers had to drive it away by throwing rocks and their weightbelts at it.

They claim the dragon even tried to eat one of the heavily weighted belts.

"Luckily, they were able to chase it away," said port official Pariman, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name.

The beasts have sharp, serrated teeth and often come out when they smell something new, including humans, whom they've been known to kill, Pariman said.

The divers encountered treacherous currents after plunging from their wooden boat off Tatawa island on Thursday afternoon. They drifted 20 miles from their dive site before swimming to Rinca, their last chance to avoid being swept into the open ocean.

"We struggled against the current for several hours, but eventually stopped," 31-year-old Laurent Pinel, of France, told The Sunday Times of London. We "tied ourselves together by our diving vests to preserve energy."

They ran into the Komodo dragon on Friday afternoon. The next day, rescuers plying the waters in more than 30 boats spotted them waving frantically on the shore and took them to Flores island for medical treatment.

The area where the diving trip took place is famous for its rich marine diversity, including sharks, manta rays and sea turtles. But it is also known for its treacherous and unpredictable seas.

Recommended only for experienced divers, it is in a place where the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet, creating currents that converge and separate. Whirlpools and eddies can pull divers downwards.

"We're safe but absolutely exhausted and dehydrated," Charlotte Allin, a 25-year-old British diver was quoted by The Sunday Times of London as telling her parents from the hospital where the five were taken.

Komodo dragons, which can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 365 pounds, are only found in the wild on Rinca and Komodo island. There are believed to be 4,000 left in the world.

Thousands of tourists visit the area in eastern Indonesia each year to see the lizards in their natural habitat. They are normally shown around the arid and rocky island by guides who carry large, forked sticks to ward off the lizards.

[patriot12436]

onlythe real
I beg to differ. I have known athiests in foxholes. I never found God in any foxholes or during combat. I was raised christain. I have recently converted to Budhism. I believe in respecting all religions and even the beliefs of athiests.

[patriot12436]

wilfbraun
There are reported cases of people living on the islands with the dragons where people have been killed by the dragons, and some cases where the people, especially children simply disappear. The dragons like to feed on decaying flesh. They bite their prey which infects it from their saliva and the prey will go off and die. he dragon will follow the scent ad within two or three days come to feed . The saliva has so much concentrated bacteria that it is known to be fatal.

[patriot12436]

lrh1936
I would think it is possible. There are a lot of lizards that are good swimmers.

[sistatee-2009]

Don''t you need a license to throw rocks at Komodo dragons?

[feelfreee4u]

Yeah, it''s always frustrating when you''re out diving and you get attacked by Rosie O''Donnell and Cindy Sheehan.

[wilfbraun]

I don''t think Dragons eat Human, maybe the Komodo Dragons knew these Divers where "Chickens"

[lrh1936]

You said in your video that the dragons were only found on Rinca and Kimodo Island. In 1967, while stationed in Cam Rahn Bay, S. Vietnam, we had a warrant officer which had caught two dragons that were huge, in Viet Nam. Could this be possible?

[sassalin]

talkingham,

Your comment makes no sense. Divers are spoiled? Do I detect a hint of jealousy?

[Netterz]

Well ****...I was hoping to see a picture of the dragon....no one had a camera? or maybe they threw that at it too...after all, they claimed it was as big as the biggest one ever known to man....now the lizard protective services agent is going to show up at there doors, and arrest them all for lizard abuse, the lizard will be moved to a foster island, where it will get lost in the system, and be loose in your neighborhood, murdering anything that smells funny in its path, because it has suffered such brutal treatment. I am sad now.

[impeach_w]

I was just thinking if it would have been ethical to kill an endagered dragon and eat it just to save some humans or let the dragon be. I think the only ethical thing would be to sacrafice a human to survive.

They were later arrested for throwing weights and Rocks at the protected dragon. Humans should be banned from the area. SAVE THE DRAGONS!