The coast guard Friday deployed a seaplane as the search continues for a local man who had gone missing while diving for sea cucumbers since 3:30 PM Thursday.
A coastguard official said two vessels with divers were operating in the area, as well as a seaplane which have been involved in the search since Friday morning.
"The sea was relatively rough in the area where the man had gone missing. However, Coast Guard divers are relentlessly working to find the missing man. No trace of him has been found so far," official said.
Three people had dived into the sea from the 'Manfaa' boat, which had nine on board when it had departed to find seacucumbers. The other crew members in the boat had reported that the missing man had gone diving for a 45 minute session, but had failed to surface at the designated time.
Coastguard said the search for the third diver began after the first two had surfaced after the session.
The man had been wearing a black wet suit, white fins and a black BCD diving jacket when he had dove off the boat. Coastguard said the man would also have a red balloon on his hand, and that he was five feet six inches in height.
Coastguard has urged vessels traveling in the area to keep an eye out and notify the authorities should any signs be seen of the missing man.
