TIMELINE: Carmen, Cebu tragedy that led to death of 7 victims

A red pickup truck with 17 passengers onboard was swept away by flood waters in a river in Brgy. Cantumog, Carmen, Cebu on Monday afternoon, July 8. | Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A family’s joyful gathering to spend some quality time together after a loved one’s wedding in Cebu had a tragic ending. 

In an unexpected turn of events, not all of them made it home after a day of laughter and relaxation.

On Monday, July 8, a family held a party at a mountain resort in Sitio Mangingit, Brgy. Lower Natimao-an, Carmen town.

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However, they met an accident on their way back home.

A surge of flash flood waters coming from the mountains swept away the red pickup truck they were riding.

Out of the 17 individuals onboard, only 10 survived.

The seven missing victims were found dead and floating off nearby coastal areas days later.

On Thursday, July 11, they were laid to rest surrounded by mourning family and friends.

Here is a timeline of the tragedy that took the lives of a newlywed couple and five young children in Carmen, Cebu: 

Monday, July 8

The father of one of the victims, Amadeo Ypil Jr., 47, narrated that they arrived at the mountain resort at around 11:00 a.m.

His eldest daughter, Rhesamie Ypil Costan, 26, just got married to her husband, Elmer Costan, 25, on Saturday, July 6.

Rhesamie was six months pregnant.

The family decided to have a party at a mountain resort, where the children could happily enjoy swimming in the pool.

According to Ypil, a neighbor who is close to their family arrived at around 3:00 p.m. onboard a red pickup truck.

At the same time, Ypil decided to bring some of their relatives home on his motorcycle. 

When he offered to come back for the rest, they said that they would catch a ride on their neighbor’s pickup truck.

Ypil said that when he crossed a spillway of a river in Brgy. Cantumog on his way home, he encountered no problems.

While it has already started raining at past 3:00 p.m., the water has not overflowed and they were able to cross safely.

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Ypil arrived in their house in Barangay Cantacung and received the shocking news of the accident a few hours later.

A total of 17 individuals got onboard the pickup truck as they headed home at around 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

Some stayed inside while others sat at the cargo box of the truck, which is ideally designed to carry up to five passengers only.

As they passed by the same spillway in Brgy. Cantumog, the vehicle was struck by raging waters as the river swelled and overflowed to the nearby roads.

The driver reportedly lost direction of the concrete road and was unaware that the vehicle already encroached the banks before it was suddenly hit by a huge volume of flood water.

The pickup truck was then swept away and got caught on a big rock a few meters away.

During this time, 10 of the passengers were able to quickly get off and climb on top of the rock.

According to Ypil, his daughter Rhesamie jumped into the water after seeing her husband fall into the river first.

The couple and five young kids were then swept away by the raging waters and went missing.

Some residents in the area noticed the stuck pickup truck and immediately called for help from authorities. 

When emergency personnel arrived shortly after, the 10 individuals were rescued.

The rescued persons were: Ranilo Hermoso, 44; the driver of the vehicle; Debie Hermoso, 40; Jojielyn Tungal, 39; Jasmine Gica, 37; 4 six-year-old girls; an 11-year-old girl; and a 16-year-old girl.

They were taken to the rural health unit in the town and subjected to psychosocial intervention.

Immediately after, the Carmen Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) and other partner agencies began conducting search and rescue operations for the missing victims.

A few hours later, they retrieved the body of 11-year-old Arshane Bejoc in a river in Brgy. Luyang, a few kilometers downstream.

Because of inclement weather, authorities had to pause search and rescue operations at past 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 9

Search and rescue operations resumed on Tuesday morning, July 9, and around 100 personnel focused their search in the Luyang river believing that the victims might have been washed away in different areas.

The rescued individuals, on the other hand, were sent home after undergoing psychosocial intervention.

They then found the body of Rhesamie Ypil Costan, 26, floating in the same river.

Authorities then reportedly found Nathaniel Lozano, 12; and Clarisse Ypil, 13, in the waters off Panalipan, Catmon, a neighboring town of Carmen town.

Not long after, they retrieved the body of Aishie Hermoso, 12, off the seas of Barangay Consuelo of San Francisco town in the Camotes Islands in northern Cebu.

At around 2:00 p.m. on the same day, some fishermen found the body of Elmer Costan, 25, floating in the waters of Macaas, Catmon town.

Wednesday, July 10

The body of the last missing victim, 15-year-old Mike Stanley Tungal, was recovered on Wednesday, July 10, during a search and retrieval operation.

With this, all seven of the missing victims of the Carmen tragedy were accounted for and the search and rescue operations officially ended.

The tragic incident caused the untimely demise of seven individuals, whose cadavers were turned over to their families.

The final list of deceased victims consist of: Arshane Bejoc, Rhesamie Ypil Costan, Nathaniel Lozano, Clarisse Ypil, Aishie Hermoso, Elmer Costan, and Mike Stanley Tungal.

Thursday, July 11

A Holy Mass was held at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Carmen, Cebu on Thursday, July 11, for the victims who met their untimely death in the flash flood accident.

With heavy hearts, their loving family and friends brought them to their final resting place at a cemetery in Brgy. Dawis, Carmen, Cebu on Thursday morning.