(Source: WEB)
Three Koreans missing hours after Lapu-Lapu dive
THREE Koreans went missing after diving in the waters off Punta Engaño in Lapu-Lapu City at 11 a.m. yesterday.
Chief Insp. Conrado Manatad of the Mactan Police Station 2 said 37-year-old dive instructor Baek Seung Kyoon, 45-year-old Heo Seung Yung and 31-year-old Kim Eun started diving at 11 a.m. but were not found as scheduled at 3 p.m.
He said personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard searched for the Koreans but called it off at 6 p.m. due to unfavorable weather conditions.
READ: Big waves slow down search for 3 Korean divers; dive shop closed
“There were large waves and strong current and it is also night time. The team will resume the retrieval operation tomorrow (today),” Manatad said.
He said their report stated that the owner of Palmbeach Resort reported the incident to the police.
But the resort’s lawyer said in an email that the divers are not their guests.
“They are not staying in Palmbeach Resort and Apartelle Inc. Palmbeach Resort and Apartelle Inc. are not involved in anyway in the operation of the dive resort,” the resort’s legal counsel Rester John Nonato said.
Andy Berame, deputy officer of the Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), said the Koreans were clients of Grand Bleu Dive Resort which is inside Palmbeach Resort.