3 men die in Tagaytay waterfall accident

CAMP VICENTE LIM—Three men died after they slipped and fell from a 40-meter high waterfall in Tagaytay City, Cavite on Monday afternoon, the police said.

Cavite police director Senior Supt. John Bulalacao in a text message identified the victims as Jaime Dano, Michael Solis, and Rogelio Lara, all in their mid- to late twenties.

He said the three men were collecting orchids from a steep waterfall in Barangay Iruhin when they slipped and fell into the water at around 3:20 p.m.

Solis was still able to climb out of the water and sought help from the nearest hut in the remote village but also died minutes later. Dano and Lara were already dead when they were pulled out of the water.

Superintendent Danilo Buentipo, Tagaytay city police chief, said the three did not show external wounds or scratches, but Solis most likely had died of internal hemorrhage, while the other two drowned after the impact from the fall knocked them out.

He said the families of the victims refused an autopsy on the bodies.

“The families believed it was an accident. They said the three regularly went to that place to collect flowers for a living,” Buentipo said.