2 Czech tourists drown while snorkeling in Palawan

CITY OF CALAPAN — Two male Czech tourists drowned while on an island-hopping tour with 13 other Czechs in Kayangan Lake on Coron Island in Palawan province, police said Wednesday.

In an emailed statement, Supt. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the Mimaropa Police Regional Office, said the bodies of Jakub Brazda, 25, and Martin Sefcik, 28, were found by rescue teams around 21.8 meters underwater at around 8:20 p.m. Monday after an almost 12-hour search.

Tolentino said Brazda and Sefcik, with other Czech nationals, rented a boat for island hopping at about 8:30 a.m.

They went missing after snorkeling in Kayangan Lake. The group noticed the two missing after they went back to their hotel at about 4:30 p.m.

Boat captain Menard Naval and his assistant Manuel Rendola immediately searched for the two.

After an hour without finding the swimmers, they contacted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) which launched a search-and-rescue team.

The bodies were brought to the morgue of Coron District Hospital, while local government and police started coordinating with the Czech Embassy. /atm