CEBU CITY—An outing by a group of friends turned tragic after two of them drowned while swimming off Camotes Island, Cebu Tuesday.
The bodies of 18-year-old John Mark Donaire Gerodias and Clark Costanilla Paradero, 21, were recovered around 9 a.m. Wednesday or a day after they went missing.
Investigation showed that despite the strong winds and huge waves generated by typhoon "Bising," the two men, along with their four friends, went out for swimming in Barangay San Isidro, San Francisco Tuesday morning.
FO1 Aian Morales of the town’s fire department said they received a report that six persons went missing off the rocky shores of San Isidro.
Four of the six friends were immediately rescued but they sustained injuries and wounds after huge waves smashed them into sharp rocks.
Search and rescue operations were launched by the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, the police, and the town’s rescue teams.
Morales said the search and rescue operations became challenging because of the huge waves.
Efforts to find the two friends were called off late Tuesday afternoon and resumed Wednesday morning.
At around 9:05 a.m., the body of Gerodias was found floating on Canlusong Wharf in San Fransisco.
The body of Paradero was found at 10:50 a.m. along the shores of Barangay South Poblacion also in San Fransisco.