PCG special ops unit pulls

daring cave pool rescue

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol June 29 (PIA)—With air in their oxygen tanks nearly depleted, two special operations unit divers of the Philippine Coast Guard pulled off succeeded in shepherding back to the open a teen victim who has been trapped in a cave pool for seven hours.

In what could probably be this year’s most daring cave rescue, Coast Guard personnel from its Special Operations Unit led by PO3 Jonas Hongayo with PO2 Raffy Drilon, SN2 Jay Bryan Simbajon and Wong Chee Phil Jaafar arrived at the scene in about 10:30, to see Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Red Cross volunteer rescuers, Police officers and Antequera Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction rescuers in the wait deep water, and a crowd already gathered at the sides of the cave pool, now lit with emergency lights.

Earlier, a team from the PCG Western Station has already arrived and verified the alarm, which they received, together with Bohol’s rescue unit: Tarsier 117.

As soon as they came in, they were told about a girl trapped in the underwater cave, in Tubang Spring, Barangay Celing, Antequera.

Getting to work, knowing that time is critical in every rescue, two PCG personnel strapped in their dive suits and, with underwater flashlights, swam through the narrow spring opening and scraped loose pebbles and mud to enlarge the access enough for the divers to slip through.

It was a wriggle through some 8 meters of sloping descent, our backs and sides occasionally scraping stalagmites, Simbajon, who was a medium built salvage diver shared.

Drilon, a smaller diver, first squeezed through the hole to find an ample pool as he slipped through the entrance. He slowly reconnoitered, swimming around the pond, and accidentally shone his light on something white. Upon investigation, it was the feet of the victim, weak and shivering while clinging on a small ledge with square meter wide space forming an air chamber.

“She was weak, and the air was stinky, I had to use my secondary mouthpiece to spray oxygen into her face, so she could regain and be strong enough to swim back,” Drilon said.

He tried to teach her how to breath using the regulated air, but as soon as they get to a few meters down to get back to the hole, the girl would have panic attacks and disengage to swim back, sapping more energy.

I swam in and found them in the air chamber, tried helping convince the girl to swim back with us, tethered by the diver’s secondary oxygen hose, but every time she would dive deeper, she would disengage and swim back, Simbajon recalled.

Afraid of operating on depleted oxygen tanks, Simbajon left his flashlight to enlighten the chamber while they both promised to be back, after mapping out a rescue plan.

A few minutes later, the divers went back in, strung a safety line to guide them and handed the girl, who was barely moving, to nibble on chocolates and drink water, to have enough energy.

They also went with a crude air duct to supply the air chamber with enough oxygen, in the absence of a similar equipment.

A garden hose which we tapped into an extra dive tank was snaked through the hole into the chamber.

Alternately spraying the girl with oxygen from their tanks and then teaching her how to use the mouth breather, Drilon’s air was down to 50 bar, so they have to pull this one through.

Finally, the girl gained enough strength to say, Muuli na ko Kuya, and in one heave, let go of the ledge and sunk embraced by one diver as she fumbled on the safety line on her swim to safety.

The Coast Guard team came up with the cheering crowd.

As soon as the team waited for the usual debriefing to follow, its was then that they learned two more boys were rescued earlier, and another one, in an attempt to rescue the girl, was pulled out lifeless after three attempts.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Reports from details of the MDRRMC bared that the three, along with a group of friends want swimming in the cave pool, when one of the boys suggested they explore the other end of the cave.

When the three failed to come back at about 6 PM, their worried companions sought the help of the MDRRMC.

The community that learned of the incident, trooped to the cave to watch the rescue, as the MDRRM installed emergency light and pointed it to the hole.

It was not known if there was somebody attempting to dive into the hole, but by 8:15, the first of the boys swam out of the hole, to the arms of the BFP PNP and MDRRM rescuers.

Carl Lawrence Laojan, 18 years old staggered out safe but shivering, 8:13 PM, after three hours of being trapped inside the cave pool.

Five minutes later, his companion, a minor, also surfaced and collapsed into the waiting rescuers.

Clearly ill-equipped and without any established underwater cave rescue protocols as later shown on viral videos of the attempts, the MDRRM sought the help of Bohol’s premier rescue unit; Tarsier 117, and the PCG.

While awaiting for the trained rescuers, the community which started to worry about the safety of the girl trapped inside the cave pool, relatives of the girl started to mount their own devised rescue plan.

As to why the local disaster team allowed such, nobody can yet tell, but eventually, 28 years old Larry Quiros, elder brother of the victim, who claimed he knows the cave terrain, swam with a rope tied around his waists, in swimming goggles and wielding a flashlight disappeared into the dark hole, the rope snaking after him.

After two reported attempts, he swam back in and the rescuers tended the line, ready to pull him back at any distress signs.

Four minutes later, when the line did not move, they pulled and the lifeless body of the rescuer floated.

Attempts to resuscitate the rescuer proved futile as he died of asphyxiation by drowning when he reached the hospital.

The PCG verification team and the Tarsier reached the site at about 9 PM, and after assessing the situation, the PCG team mobilized its SOU to the rescue.

The Tarsier, possibly without any expertise in cave rescues in unfamiliar terrain, reportedly decided to sit it out and remount the rescue in the morning.

Our SOU team reported their arrival at the site about 10:30 and started the rescue at 10:45, according to PCG ensign Babe Jocelie Isaga.

In a Facebook post, Antequera Councilor Johnny Coquilla, who possibly interviewed the survivor, claimed that the victim reached the girl in her last attempt, told her the cave has bad spirits so they need to swim out.

That time, he claimed they both tried but as soon as the were on the bottom about to get into the exit hole, she panicked and swam back, leaving his brother.

The SOU Team eventually found the dive goggles and flashlight in the bottom of the cave pool. (PIABohol)

SAD AND HAPPY. PCG SOU divers were both happy that the rescue mission turned out successful, freeing a minor trapped inside a cave pool where access was a narrow hole 8 meters below the surface. They too were sad learning that one man died trying to mount a rescue, without the proper training, equipment and support. (PIABohol)