3 missing as flashflood hits Laguna resort

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Three people, one them a six-year-old child, went missing after a flash flood swept them into a river in Majayjay town in Laguna province on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Senior Insp. Marcelino Marcial, Majayjay police chief, said the victims were guests at the Dalitiwan Resort, a mountainside destination in Barangay Ilayang Banga, some 104 kilometers from Metro Manila.

Marcial said a sudden downpour at 4:30 p.m. caused a flash flood, with water gushing from the mountain sweeping away four people.

One of the victims, whose name was not immediately available, was rescued but the three others remained missing as of 7:30 p.m.

One of them was identified as Vanessa Carillo, 33, from Dasmariñas City in Cavite province while the others were a child and a 33-year-old man, police said.

“The rains have stopped but the [river] current was still strong,” Marcial said in telephone interview.

He said other guests had been warned by the resort’s personnel that the water may rise suddenly.

“We’re wondering why these victims did not stay away [from the river],” he said.