Five scuba divers were grateful to be on familiar land on Saturday, after surviving a 2-day ordeal that included swimming in shark-infested waters and a close encounter with a Komodo dragon. The divers saga began on Thursday, in the Komoda National Park off Bali, Indonesia.

While the area is well-known for its amazing marine life, which include sharks, manta rays and sea turtles, it is also where the Pacific and Indian Ocean meet, and therefore prone to very strong and treacherous currents.

The five got caught in these currents, which dragged them about twenty-five miles from where they had begun. Initially, they tried to fight the currents, but gave up after realizing it was futile. By now, they were also getting really tired. In order to conserve energy, they tied their diving vests together and drifted along for about nine hours in shark-infested waters, until they reached a remote island called Rinca.

Relieved at finding land, the five scrambled onshore tired, hungry and thirsty. However, there was very little to eat on the island. All they were able to scrounge up were some mussels. As

they waited, hoping that someone would come rescue them, a Komodo dragon suddenly appeared.

Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizards, are carnivorous animals who can grow as much as 10ft long and weigh over 150 pounds. They are also very strong and can easily overpower human beings. They attack their prey by hiding in tall grasses, using their venom-filled saliva to kill them. There are only 4,000 of them left in the wild, all concentrated around the Komodo National Park. It is estimated that Rinca Island has a population of about 1.300 Komodo dragons.

The divers threw rocks and branches to keep the dragon at bay. Much to their relief, it finally walked away. However, after that they were too scared to sleep incase it decided to come back.

Meanwhile, the families of the divers had alerted local authorities, who started an intense search, with the help of local fishermen. Just before noon on Saturday, almost two days after this ordeal began, the five were spotted waving frantically from the beach and rescued.

Though hungry and dehydrated, none of them had suffered any major damage. They were taken to a nearby hospital for further examination and then released. As of today, they are on their way home, anxious to re-unite with their family and friends and relay to them their nerve-racking tale, in person

Source: Telegraph.co.uk. APnews, DailyMail.com, Wikipedia.org