Rescued British divers 'had to fight off Komodo dragons' after drifting in Indonesian waters for two days

All five missing divers, including the three Britons, were found alive this morning

Ernest Leandowski, the husband of Kathleen Mitchinson said: 'They have been found, they are alive and are now on their way to get medical assistance.

Relief: A komodo dragon, left, and British diver Kathleen Mitchinson, one of five rescued victims, hugs her husband Ernest Lewandowski upon arriving

Meanwhile French diver Laurent Pinel, 31, said the group had spent nine hours adrift at sea before spending two nights on deserted Rinca island.

"We had nothing to eat. We ate some kind of mussels scraped from the rocks," he told news agency AFP.

"On the beach a Komodo dragon came amongst us yesterday afternoon."

He said the group had to throw rocks to scare it away.

An Indonesian search and rescue team evacuate five victims of the sea accident including three Britons

Police said the group had been found by fishermen but Mr Pinel said it was national park rangers who discovered them.

He said the divers had struggled against the current for several hours after they were swept away but then stopped swimming to preserve energy and tied their diving vests together.

He said late on Thursday night they saw an island and decided to make one more effort to reach land so they did not risk being swept out into open sea.

"We were exhausted. Everyone had cramps," he said.

Britons Mrs Mitchinson, Charlotte Allin and James Manning, along with two other divers, had been missing since 3pm local time (8am BST) on Thursday.

Found alive: Divers Kathleen Mitchinson and Charlotte Allin were found by

The alarm was raised after the group failed to return following a dive off the remote Komodo National Park in Indonesia.

Miss Allin's father, Dave Allin, said: "We know that they have been found. It is fantastic news. It has been a very long night.

"I haven't spoken to Charlotte yet and we don't know what their medical condition is - they have been floating out there for two days. We are still waiting for news of how they are."

Mr Allin said he understood that the divers had been taken by boat to a medical centre on the island of Flores.

Hunt: Ernest Lewandowski

"I gather that they have managed to walk under their own steam which is a good sign, but I don't know any more than that," he added.

Speaking from the family home in the village of Northam, near Bideford, Devon, he said: "We have all the family over here. There are about 12 of us including the grandparents and we are all celebrating.

"We have been sitting around waiting for news all night. It is pretty emotional as you can imagine."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "By all accounts all five have been found by Indonesian fisherman."

The divers were last seen off Komodo Island, above

Tiger shark: One of several species found in the area

The diving expedition was organised by the Reefseekers diving centre, which is run by Mrs Mitchinson and based in Labuan Bajo, a small fishing town on the Indonesian island of Flores.

The waters off the isolated park are attractive to divers but the area boasts strong and unpredictable currents which can create challenging conditions.

During an emotional phone call to her parents, Charlotte Allin, 25, said she was tired and dehydrated but fine except for a few cuts and bruises on her feet.

Her mother Sue said: "I didn't believe that she was all right until I heard her voice."

Alert: Where the divers disappeared

Her father Dave added: "We are very happy. She's a bit dehydrated and exhausted.

"She didn't really understand what all the fuss was about."

He added: "We just want to get them home now."

Mr Allin said Charlotte and her boyfriend James Manning, 30, were diving instructors who had been teaching scuba diving in Phi Phi, Thailand, for about two years.

He said they would be coming home soon and joked that he would "lock her up" to keep her safe.

He said the group of divers were thought to have drifted about 25 miles.

Local police chief Lt Col Buce Helo said the divers had drifted for more than 12 hours before arriving at remote Rinca island about 20 miles south of their dive site.

He said they spent one night on Rinca before being found by rescuers just before noon local time on Saturday.

Pariman, chief of the local port authority, said rescuers took them by motorboat to Labuan Bajo, a city on the western tip of nearby Flores island from where they were taken to hospital.

The diving trip took place off of Tatawa island, near the Komodo National Park, which is home to the world's largest lizards, the Komodo dragons.

The area, where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet, is recommended only for experienced divers due to strong currents and whirlpools which can pull divers downwards.