LA TRINIDAD, Benguet , Philippines – Thirty persons, including 13 Japanese students, were rescued from a flooded cave in Sagada town, Mt. Province the other day.
Aside from the Japanese, those rescued included four visitors from Manila, two from the province’s Natonin town, two from Pampanga, eight local tourist guides and a girl.
Cordillera police spokesman Superintendent Davvy Limmong identified the Japanese students as Atsushi Ito, 30; Yoshitaka Onoe, 23; Saika Furukawa, 21; Sakuda Hikaru, 28; Mutsimi Sato, 30; Koichi Sato, 33; Takuto Horita, 28; Ayumi Shimamura, 25; Keitaro Yuda,35; Sayori Shirai,23; Yuka Morita, 31; Yuka Nakamura, 32; and Naomi Yusakawa.
Limmong said the names of the local visitors and their guides were not immediately available.
The tourists were trapped as floods spawned by Typhoon Maring entered the Sumaguing Cave in Barangay Ambasing on Sunday afternoon.
Rescuers are looking for another tourist identified as Irene Manaois who reportedly slipped in a dark portion of the cave. – Artemio Dumlao, Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca