With more tourists coming in to experience canyoneering, Alegria tour guides and municipal employees undergo training on proper water rescue operations to better assist tourists. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
WITH canyoneering becoming the latest attraction in southern Cebu, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) trained water rescuers in Alegria.
Dennis Cortes, PDRRMO chief of operations, said the municipal government of Alegria requested for the training as more adventure seekers trooped to its canyoneering site in Kanlaob Falls in barangay Compostela.
At least 30 participants joined the training, including 15 tour guides. The rest were municipal employees.
The Department of Tourism previously conducted training for the tour guides but it was not focused on water rescue.
The training lasted five days. It started on January 11 with a series of lectures and ended last January 15 with a simulation of a rescue operation at the site where a tour guide drowned two years ago.
The canyooneering enthusiasts may choose to start in Compostela and end up in Kawasan Falls in barangay Matutinao, Badian.
Cortes said they are also planning to hold similar training for the tour guides in Badian.
Rechele Torsiende, municipal DRRMO, said barangay Compostela identified at least 90 individuals who will attend the training.
She said they were hopeful that there will be no more accidents involving canyoneering or, in case there is, they will be able to handle the emergency by themselves.
Aldrin Carba was recognized as the pioneer in canyoneering. He was an acclaimed tour guide among his colleagues, but went missing in July 2014 while assisting visitors at the canyoneering site.
Due to the lack of local rescuers, his body was found only after 29 hours of search.
The present rates of the canyoneering activity in Alegria include P50 entrance fee, P150 for the gear, and P500 dive fee.