American tourist in 'Open Water' horror as he's left behind by dive boat in shark-infested seas 30 miles offshore



A U.S. tourist had a narrow escape after he was left behind in shark-infested waters by his dive boat 30 miles off the coast of Australia.



Ian Cole, 28, had been diving off the north Queensland coast and surfaced to find his boat had headed back to shore without him.

The drama echoed the story of two Americans abandoned in the Great Barrier Reef. They were believed to have been attacked and eaten by sharks in a horror that inspired the Hollywood film Open Water.

American tourist Ian Cole, 28, had been diving the Great Barrier Reef, seen here, off the north Queensland coast when his boat left him

Mr Cole said today: 'The adrenalin hit in and I had a moment of panic, which was the worst thing I could have done at that point.'



He had set out for a dive to a reef called Michaelmas Cay with other tourists on board the Passions of Paradise.

But when he surfaced, wearing only a snorkel, he was horrified to find that the vessel had headed back to the shore without him.

Mr Cole had set out for a dive to a reef called Michaelmas Cay with other tourists on board the Passions of Paradise. He was stranded about 30 miles from shore

'I lifted my head up and I saw that the boat had gone - it had left me,' he told the Cairns Post.

Americans Tom and Eileen Lonergan in 1996. Their 1998 disappearance inspired the film 'Open Water'

The incident had eerie echoes of the tragedy involving American tourists Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who were left behind by their dive boat off Port Douglas, Queensland, in January 1998.

Mr Cole, however, lived to tell his terrifying tale.

In an incredible stroke of luck, he spotted another boat in the distance and was able to hail it.



Exhausted and close to drowning, he was plucked from the waters just in time.



The crew of the second boat radioed for the Passions of Paradise to come back and pick him up.

Following the Lonergans incident, regulations were introduced to ensure that the crews of vessels carried out a head count and each passenger's signature was recorded before any boat returned to shore.

But this was not done before the Passions of Paradise started on the return journey and the company admitted yesterday that the crew member responsible for the head counts had since been sacked.

Mr Col McKenzie, executive officer of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators said an investigation had begun.

But he admitted the staff member who conducted the headcount had broken the rules and had been sacked.

'They have had a staff member that has just simply broken the rules and that is what led to it.

'If a staff member decides to be lazy and not do the right thing then yes, this can happen,' Mr McKenzie told the paper.

Horror on the reef: Above, the shocking picture that shows the body of American bride Tina Watson (circled) on the seabed in 2003. Her husband Gabe, shown with her right, was accused of leaving her for dead



The cost of Mr Cole's trip has been refunded and he has been offered a restaurant voucher.

But Mr Cole, who has been in Australia on a working holiday for about nine months, said he wanted a written assurance that procedures would be put in place to ensure nothing similar happened again.

Two other Americans have been involved in a drama on the Great Barrier Reef that has attracted international attention.

Tina Watson, a 26-year-old from Alabama, died while on a scuba diving honeymoon in Queensland with her husband Gabe Watson in October 2003.

A dramatic photograph shows her lying on the sea bed after he claimed she got into difficulties. He was subsequently imprisoned in Queensland for her manslaughter.

