2 divers rescued near Apo Island

DUMAGUETE CITY (PNA) – Two foreigners who went scuba diving in the internationally renowned dive destination of Apo Island in Dauin, Negros Oriental, have been rescued several hours after they were reported missing at 4 p.m. Monday.

The two were identified as Matthew La France of Canada, 41, residing in Lipayo, Dauin, Negros Oriental, and Swayam Rawla, 30, an Indian national but with an American citizenship and staying at the Dumaguete Spring Hotel in Lipayo, Dauin.

The two had been at sea for nine hours after they were carried away by strong currents and waves off Apo Island on Monday afternoon.

The Philippine Coast Guard station commander in Dumaguete, Lt. Junior Grade Donna Liza Ramacho, alerted the coast guard station in Apo Island to launch a search.

The search was called off because it was getting dark and would have resumed the following day. But the coast guard received a word that a cargo vessel bound for Iloilo City had rescued the two divers at around 9:20 p.m. Monday.

One of the crew members of the M/V Fortune Gold, a 74-meter Philippine-flagged cargo ship loaded with 57,000 sacks of cement, heard the divers’ shouts for help.

It took 25 minutes to finally find the two, according to the ship’s captain Ricarte Hibalay of Bohol.

Hibalay said the two foreigners were found 11.8 nautical miles southwest of Apo Island.

He said the two could have drifted further south due towards the Mindanao sea.

Hibalay said he decided to bring the two to the port of Dumaguete.

In an interview, La France, a diving instructor with Dumaguete Divers dotcom, said they realized how fortunate they are, knowing they had little chance of being rescued in the middle of the sea.

His wristwatch computer showed they started to go down at 1:08 Monday afternoon and their dive time was only 46 minutes.

According to him, he was surprised why the boat that dropped them off at Apo Island failed to come back for them.

They tried to swim back to the island but the current was so strong and carried them despite them dropping some of their weight belts.

Ramacho said a formal investigation is being conducted to validate the claims of the two divers.

She said the will be asking for the side of the motorboat operator or its skipper because it was not the first time that the two went scuba diving in the area.