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Wednesday, November 10, 2004
2 Japanese sea divers disappear
By Oscar C. Pineda
CEBU CITY -- Two Japanese men disappeared while diving in the Hilutungan Channel off Lapu-Lapu City Monday night.
One of them was found floating dead in the seawaters off the neighboring town of Cordova Tuesday morning, while the other remains missing.
As of Tuesday, frogmen from the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) were still looking for the other diver.
Police identified the two Japanese, both diving instructors, as Masahiro Kajita, 25, and Chihiro Nawa, 20.
Lapu-Lapu City Police Chief Louie Oppus said three fishermen from Barangay Catarman in Cordova found Kajita's body floating about 20 meters from shore.
Kajita's underwater breathing equipment was still intact but his air tank was empty.
PNP Medico Legal Anthony Uy, after conducting initial examination on the corpse, did not find any indication of foul play.
The body was brought to Cebu Rolling Hills Memorial chapel in Mandaue City for further examination.
Oppus said he has directed the police in Olango Island and surrounding areas to be on the lookout for the missing Japanese.
Dawn search
He said the two Japanese went diving off the Pacific Cebu Beach Resort in Barangay Suba Basbas at 8:30 p.m. without a dive guide.
The two were guests at the resort.
Oppus said that when the two failed to surface after an hour, their cameraman, only known as Ugara, alarmed the management of the resort.
Ugara was taking video footage of the two Japanese during the dive.
Resort personnel started a search for the two the same night.
When they failed to find the divers at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, they reported the matter to the police.
The police, in turn, alerted the Navforcen.
Kajita's body was found in Barangay Catarman, about two and a half kilometers southwest of the resort, by fishermen Eddie Angco, Aljon Pogoy and Gigo Obregon.
Pacific Cebu Beach Resort general manager Antonio Bande and diving supervisor Jonathan Vestil refused to see news reporters Tuesday.
Error?
Oppus said, though, that the two Japanese did not register in the resort dive logbook before the dive, which is a clear violation of the basic rules of diving.
He said the dive computer on Kajita's wrist registered an error, which can mean that the Japanese went beyond the depth limits for the dive.
Oppus said the two came to Cebu in the later part of June this year.
Nawa, who is from Yamagata, Japan, is scheduled to leave the country this month.
Kajita, from Aichi, Japan, was supposed to leave in the middle of December.
Oppus said the two were part of an ongoing training at the resort that teaches diving instructors to communicate with Japanese divers.
(November 10, 2004 issue)
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