"Australian boat abandons US snorkler" June 29, 2011|Associated Press
SYDNEY -- Australian safety officials said today that they were investigating a dive boat company that accidentally left a US tourist behind while he was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, forcing the panicked man to swim to another boat for help....
The incident drew immediate comparisons to the infamous case of Americans Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who died in 1998 after their tour boat left while they were scuba diving on the reef. Officials believe they drowned or were eaten by sharks....
Their case served as an inspiration for the 2003 movie "Open Water."
Still, a handful of reef tourists have found themselves adrift since then.
In 2008, a British diver and his American girlfriend became lost when they resurfaced from a dive on the reef and found themselves far away from their dive boat. They were rescued from the ocean by helicopter after spending 19 hours in the water.
--more--"
