MORONG, Bataan — Two picnickers, one celebrating his 25th birthday, drowned in a beach in Morong, Bataan Sunday afternoon.
Police Senior Inspector Christopher Lalic, Morong police chief, identified the fatalities as Arnold Pasague, 25, truck porter, and JM Flores, 15, both from Caloocan City, Metro Manila.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard, police, and other rescuers found the body of Pasague Sunday afternoon and rushed him to the Morong municipal health center, where an attending physician declared him dead on arrival.
Flores’ lifeless body, on the other hand, was recovered on Monday morning.
PO1 Reymar Gaffud, Morong police investigator, said the two victims were with four other companions having a picnic and bathing at the public shoreline in Barangay Poblacion, Morong when suddenly engulfed by a strong current in a deep portion of the West Philippine Sea.
Rescuers were able to save Bryan Tan, 25; Ruben Guray, 37; Rudy Dapat, 39; and Janice Tan, 23; all from Monumento in Caloocan City. Janice Tan was rushed to the James Gordon Hospital in Olongapo City for observation.
“The woman was drowning,” Merlyn Pasague, Arnold’s mother, related. “Flores tried to rescue her and so did my son. But, unfortunately, they were the ones who died.”
The mother said her son was celebrating his 25th birthday Sunday and was invited by friends to the picnic in this town. (PNA)
