The group disappeared after heading out on a speedboat to Nusa Lembongan, a small island off the southeast coast of the popular resort isle, Bali police spokesman Hariadi told AFP.
鈥淪even Japanese tourists went missing after a diving activity in the area on Friday,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e have sent out rescue boats and a helicopter this morning to comb the beaches and surrounding areas to look for them as well as their speedboat. So far, we have found nothing,鈥� he added.
It is not yet clear if the group got into trouble once they entered the water, or if they were on the boat.
鈥淥ur priority is to find them first. We don鈥檛 know if they had experienced engine trouble, strong currents or bad weather conditions,鈥� Hariadi said.
Yasue Katsunobu, the deputy consul general of Japan in Denpasar, confirmed that the missing were Japanese and he was 鈥渁waiting results of the search鈥�.
Nusa Lembongan is a popular scuba diving spot is part of Coral Triangle, widely considered the world鈥檚 richest underwater wilderness.
It across six nations between the Indian and Pacific oceans 鈥� Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
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