Carmen, Cebu: Family outing ends in tragedy after flashfloods sweep pickup truck

Accident leaves 1 dead and 6 missing, while 10 others were rescued

The Isuzu D-Max pickup is being secured by ropes at the river. | Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A family outing in Carmen town, northern Cebu ended in tragedy after flashfloods swept away their pickup truck last Monday, July 8.

The pickup truck was carrying a total of 17 passengers and tried to cross the spillway in a river in Brgy. Cantumog, a mountain barangay in Carmen, when it was struck by a huge volume of flood waters, initial reports from the Carmen Police Station showed.

As of Tuesday, July 9, at least one already died while 10 have been rescued, said Mayor Carlo Villamor.

Disaster and rescue personnel retrieved the body of an 11-year-old child identified as Arshane Bejoc in Luyang River, a few kilometers downstream.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations resumed at 8 a.m. on Tuesday for the six remaining missing family members — four of whom happened to be minors.

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Also included in the list of missing people were the couples Rhesamie Ypil Costan, 26; and Elmer Costan, 25. Reports stated the Costans recently tied the knot last weekend before the tragedy occurred.

Swept away

The family was on its way home to Brgy. Cantucong after having a party at a mountain resort in Sitio Mangingit, Brgy. Lower Natimao-an on Monday afternoon.

A total of 17 passengers boarded the vehicle, which was a Isuzu D-Max, pickup, ideally designed to carry up to five passengers only, including its driver.

At least 10 of them sat on the cargo box of the pick-up truck, investigations showed.

While it was making its way downhill around 5 p.m., the pickup truck reportedly tried to cross a spillway in Barangay Cantumog, it was then hit by a huge volume of flood waters along the river.

As a result, most of the passengers were swept away by the strong current. Those inside the pickup truck  managed to flee to safety by breaking the glass windows and climbed on top of a nearby rock.

Carmen, Cebu flashfloods Rescue

Search and rescue operations immediately followed for all the passengers on board the pick-up truck, but Villamor halted them past 9 p.m. due to inclement weather.

It resumed on the morning of the following day, Tuesday, with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard and other disaster and rescue personnel from neighboring localities.

Carmen town is a third class municipality of the province of Cebu, which is situated approximately 38.6 kilometers north of Cebu City.