All divers saved after 40 hours

Of course, she didn't know Ting had told the rescuers where they were. The two helicopters they saw on Sunday hovered over them but didn't see them. Five of the drifting divers, including Liu, were picked up one by one by the chopper at 2:30 a.m. yesterday. Eight hours later, the last two were found and rescued.

"We split in two groups, four each, while we were adrift Saturday," said Hung Yu-sheng, 29. Later, Ting said he would try to swim ashore and left them. Wang Shun-ping, 28, was picked up together with Liu and Hung. "I am very sorry for causing the people all the trouble," he apologized.

An apology was also offered by Kuo Chun-hsien, 38, and Tu Ting-chang, 38. They were rescued as a batch in the morning. "We shouldn't risk our lives trying to dive near the dangerous reef," Kuo said.

The last two divers saved, Lee Su-ling, 44, and Wang Yu-sheng, 29, recalled how hungry and thirsty all of them were. "Luckily," Lee said, "we all wore diving suits. We were cold, but we didn't suffer hypothermia." Hypothermia is a condition in which the body temperature falls below 35 degrees Celsius. Remaining in cold water for long periods of time may lead to hypothermia, which can kill.

All eight divers were taken to the Christian Hospital and Dr. Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taitung. Doctors said they were all right. "It never occurred that we might die," said Liu Su-ling. "We are all good divers," she added. "And we believed we would be saved." At first they chatted to cheer up each other. Then they gagged themselves to keep strength for a drift that could be very long.

"All that is over," said Liu Hui-chun. The first thing she did after the rescue was to call her father in Pingtung. "Daddy," she said, "I'm all right."

"But I won't do it again," she promised her father. She said she would give up scuba diving for good. "I'll give away all my gear," she added.