The Sultan Kudarat District Hospital in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat province. (Photo courtesy of SKDH Facebook Page)
COTABATO CITY – Three students drowned and two elders survived a beach outing accident at a beach resort in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, Sunday afternoon.
“The victims were swimming at Sunset Beach Resort in Barangay Kinudalan when the freak accident happened at past 5 p.m.,” Lt. Col. Julius Malcontento, Lebak municipal police chief, said in a report Monday.
Declared dead on arrival at Sultan Kudarat District Hospital were Princess Chicca Batino Wakay, 20; Venn Alieh Karon Lampac, 21; and Ricky Karon Lampac, 18, all students and residents of Barangay Barurao 1, Lebak.
Also rushed to the hospital but are now in stable condition were Bai Nida Wakay Karon, 54, Jona Karon, 52, also from Barangay Barurao 1.
Nilo Kampang, the chairperson of Barangay Kinudalan, told police the victims and the survivors belong to a family who went outing following the school break.
Malcontento said Lebak police personnel, municipal disaster risk reduction, and management staff rushed the victims to the hospital, but three did not survive.
Quoting the survivors, Malcontento said the victims noticed that the water rose faster than normal, and that they felt a strong underwater current.
The fatalities were buried according to Islamic rites. (PNA)
