CAMP OLA, Albay – Five persons, three of them minors, drowned while another went missing during a beach outing in San Jose, Camarines Sur on Black Saturday.
Police Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, Police Regional Office (PRO)-5 (Bicol) spokesperson, identified the victims as Rizza, 17; Jhona, 17; Rhea, 18, residents of Goa, Camarines Sur; and Rafael, 18, and Regine, 16, both surnamed Pino, from Naga City in Camarines Sur.
RESPONDERS carry the body of an individual who drowned along with four others during an excursion in a beach in Barangay Dolo, San Jose, Camarines Sur on Black Saturday. (LGU San Jose MDRRMO)
Calubaquib said that Ashley Rose, 16, a resident of Goa, is still missing as of posting time while Jean Rose, 12, survived.
Initial investigation disclosed that the victims held an outing together with their uncle, Gilbert Cea, at a beach in Barangay Dolo at around 9:30 a.m.
The victims went swimming together and after several hours, Cea discovered that his nieces and nephews have drowned, prompting him to seek help from the community.
The San Jose Municipal Police Station (MPS), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Coast Guard, and LGU San Jose rescue team conducted a rescue operation and brought the victims to the Medicare Hospital in San Jose but five of them were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
Investigation and search and rescue operation for Ashley Rose is ongoing.