Inaccurate count
Around 3:00 p.m., when all divers were expected back aboard, former skipper Geoffrey “Jack” Nairn asked crew member George Pyrohiw to conduct a headcount. It was a routine but critical safety protocol – and one that required absolute accuracy.
According to Pyrohiw, there should have been 26 people on board. But during the count, two passengers jumped back into the water to take final photos, creating confusion. Pyrohiw claimed he only counted 24, but when he reported it, he said Nairn responded: “And two in the water makes 26.”
What followed was a chain of oversights that compounded the tragedy.
Missing divers unnoticed
When the Outer Edge docked in Port Douglas later that afternoon and passengers began disembarking, two dive bags were still on board – untouched. Rather than raising alarms, the crew moved them aside, assuming their owners would call once they noticed them missing.
A routine inventory also revealed two missing air tanks and two weight belts, yet again, no one questioned it.
Meanwhile, Norm Stigant, the driver assigned to return passengers to their hotels, noticed that Tom and Eileen never showed up for their shuttle. He reported it but was told not to worry and eventually left without them.
As night fell, the Lonergans were still stranded somewhere in the vast Coral Sea.
