Bodies of 2 missing Korean tech divers located off Batangas

BATANGAS CITY, Philippines–A Philippine Coast Guard-led search team has located the bodies of two South Korean expert divers who were reported missing since Tuesday after a dive tour in the waters off Barangay Mapating in Maricaban Island, Batangas.

The bodies of Kim Jun Ho, 45 and Bae Jiun, 34, both tourists and known to be technical divers, have yet to be retrieved, said Supt. Rajo Opelania, Batangas maritime police chief.

Their bodies were located about 180 feet under the sea off Tingloy Island near Maricaban, said a Coast Guard officer, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the search and rescue operation mounted by the PCG.

As technical divers, the two had undergone training that would have enabled them to dive to depths of up to 350 feet.

The retrieval operation started at around 1 p.m. Friday, the source said.

The two Koreans arrived in the country last week and were guests of Dive 7000 Resort located in Barangay Bagalangit in Mabini town, Opelania said.

They went for a dive off Maricaban Island at around 7:57 a.m. Tuesday and reportedly reached a depth of 43 meters but they failed to resurface after several hours, according to Opelania.

He said Kim and Bae went diving along with two more Korean nationals and a master diver from the resort.