TWO divers who were found after drifting over 19 hours in waters off Whitsunday survived by strapping themselves together and remaining calm, police say.
Queensland water police acting superintendent Shane Chelepy said the divers found themselves 200 metres from the vessel when they resurfaced at Bait Reef at the scheduled time of 2.30pm (AEST) yesterday.
The 38-year-old British man and 40-year-old American woman were found by plane floating in the water just before 9am (AEST) today 7.8 nautical miles from where they were last seen.
They were winched into a helicopter and are currently being monitored for hypothermia at Townsville General Hospital.
Supt Chelepy credits the divers' survival to their experience and ability to remain calm.
``The divers made some very good decisions throughout the evening,'' he said.
``My information from talking to them is they strapped themselves together using their weight belts, they conserved energy, stayed as a pair and awaited rescue.''