Carmen, Cebu tragedy: Victims laid to rest 3 days after flashflood

7 victims went missing after they were swept away by surging river waters on July 8

A Holy Mass is held at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Carmen town in northern Cebu on July 11, for the seven individuals who died in a flash flood accident on their way home from a mountain resort. | Mayor Carlo Villamor FB Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The seven individuals who met their untimely death due to a flashflood in Brgy. Cantumog, a mountain barangay in Carmen, northern Cebu have been laid to rest on Thursday, July 11.

The funeral was held three days after the they were carried away by a flashflood on Monday afternoon, July 8.

The deceased victims are Arshane Bejoc, 11; Rhesamie Ypil Costan, 26; Nathaniel Lozano, 12; Clarisse Ypil, 13; Aishie Hermoso, 12; Elmer Costan, 25; and Mike Stanley Tungal, 15.

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Their family and friends attended a Holy Mass at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Carmen, Cebu on Thursday.

Shortly after, they were laid to rest at a cemetery in Brgy. Dawis, also in Carmen town.

Among the dead victims were newlyweds, Rhesamie and Elmer Costan.

The couple tied the knot on Saturday, July 6, and were expecting a baby.

The two were with their relatives and friends at a mountain resort in Sitio Mangingit, Brgy. Lower Natimao-an when tragedy struck as they were heading home.

A red pickup truck was carrying the couple and 15 other passengers on their way home to Brgy. Cantacung also of Carmen town at around 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

As they crossed a spillway of a river in Brgy. Barangay Cantumog, also of Carmen town, the truck was swept away by the raging waters due to the heavy downpour that afternoon in the mountains.

While 10 of them were able to climb on top of a big rock that the truck got stuck on, the rest were not so lucky.

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During the search and rescue operations, the bodies of each of the seven missing victims were separately found floating off the coastal areas of Carmen, Catmon, and Camotes.

Less than a week after the flashfood, the deceased individuals were buried by their family members.

Engineer Roger Suico, head of the Carmen Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), told CDN Digital in an interview that a doctor recommended for the immediate burial as the victims’ bodies were already in the second stage of decomposition, which were already bloating.

Moreover, some of the victims were submerged in water for some time. 

Suico also said that although the search and rescue operations took three days, they did not encounter many difficulties after the weather eventually cleared up.

In a post on his social media page on Thursday, Carmen Mayor Carlo Villamor relayed his condolences to the bereaved families.

“Sa mga apohan, ginikanan, igsuon, kaliwat, paryente ug higala, dawata ang dakong pahasubo gikan sa tibuok katagilungsod sa Carmen,” he said.

(To the grandparents, parents, siblings, relatives and friends, please accept our condolences from all the residents of Carmen.)