5 trekkers killed, 6 missing as Tarlac creek swells

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines  – Five mountaineers from the University of the Philippines were killed Sunday afternoon after they were swept away by strong currents in a swelling creek in the hills near a monastery in San Jose, Tarlac.

Six others remained missing as of yesterday.

Their identities were not immediately available.

The bodies of the five have been recovered, according to Charmaine Mallari, Office of Civil Defense Central Luzon planning officer.

The identities of the casualties are still being validated, she added.

Nine of the 54 mountaineers sustained minor injuries, Mallari said. Authorities are now conducting search and rescue operations to locate the missing mountaineers.

Those killed and missing are not members of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers, the organization clarified yesterday.

“We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died and remain hopeful that the missing persons would be found soon,” read a post on its Facebook page.

“In the same breath, we would also want to clarify that this is not an activity of the UP Mountaineers and we have no members involved in this activity.”  

The people involved are supposedly from UP Manila, and they are based in UP Diliman,  the UP Mountaineers said.

UP Manila has yet to receive any information about the accident, spokesman Michael Tee said.

They have some members at the scene during the search and rescue operation for the missing mountaineers, the UP Mountaineers said. 

More than 30 people, mostly from Manila, took part in an outreach mission that a Tarlac-based outfit had organized, UP Mountaineers member Jojo Yujuico Gutierrez said in a separate Facebook post.

He has spoken with the  group’s founder, Boboy Francisco, about the accident, he added.

“A total of 54 mountaineers went to Barangay Iba in San Jose, Tarlac for their outreach mission,” Mallari told dzMM yesterday in Filipino.

“On their way back, while crossing the Nagsasa creek, the water current swelled.”

Representatives from Tarlac Game Nest MC and UP Manila joined the activity, Mallari said.

Villagers found the bodies of the five in the lower reaches of Nagasa creek in the town, report added.

A monastery dedicated to a fragment of the true cross of Jesus Christ is located in the hills, Tarlac police said.

The mountaineers were caught in the swelling water currents during the thunderstorm lasting almost an hour, according to the Office of Civil Defense. – With Janvic Mateo, Alexis Romero