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Grotto claims two more lives

By John Ravelo
Reporter

Monday, July 18, 2005

Two persons died after drowning underwater off the Grotto, a popular diving site on Saipan, as swells brought on by the passage of supertyphoon Haitang caused heavy rainfall and high surf.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David did not reveal the identities of the two fatalities when interviewed yesterday. He said the two persons died after drowning off the Grotto Saturday.

As early as Saturday, the Emergency Management Office began issuing special weather advisories informing the public that heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms would be felt on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

Yesterday noon, the EMO said "island heating would produce scattered showers and a slight chance of thunderstorm to the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota."

But the agency said the small northeast swell generated by supertyphoon Haitang would fade by nighttime.

Saipan experienced continuous rainfall yesterday afternoon, damping wet the island's roads. But the EMO said it received no report of major flooding that required evacuation of residents from homes.

In yesterday's EMO advisory, Gov. Juan N. Babauta advised motorists to take extra precaution in driving due to slippery conditions on roads and highways.

"Fishermen and marine tour operators are to exercise caution due to poor visibility from the rain showers," the governor said.

A of 1pm, the supertyphoon was located about 320 nautical miles southeast of Taipei and was tracking west-northwest, according to the National Weather Service

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Drowning victims were Japanese

By John Ravelo
Reporter

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The Department of Public Safety said yesterday that the two women who drowned at the Grotto on Saturday were Japanese scuba divers.

DPS spokesman Eric David did not disclose the identities of the two victims pending notification of their next of kin, but added that one of them was a 25-year-old dive instructor. He said the other scuba diver was also 25 years old.

David said the police had received a call Saturday afternoon reporting the drowning incident and asking for assistance.

Boating Safety and other police personnel responded to the Grotto, a popular diving site on Saipan, and found divers conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of the victims. They failed to revive the woman's breathing.

At that time, the female dive instructor was still missing, police said.

Boating Safety personnel and other emergency responders conducted a search of the victim, but failed to find her until the operation was temporarily halted at about 5am Sunday.

At about 6:30am Sunday, police received a call from the Emergency Management Office, which informed the DPS that a boat had found the victim. The boat, Zero, was headed to the Smiling Cove Marina.

David said the woman was brought to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. He said both died from drowning.

The incident happened as Saipan was experiencing heavy rainfall from swells brought on by the passage of supertyphoon Haitang near the Marianas region.

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DPS: Low air blamed for Grotto drowning

By John Ravelo
Reporter

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Police believe that the diving student who drowned at the Grotto Saturday got low on air while she was several meters underwater, causing her to panic and to attempt ascending fast to the surface.

Divers who assisted police in searching for 25-year-old Megumi Morita found her underwater without her scuba tank regulator in her mouth. She was motionless when the divers found her, police said.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David said Mayumi Fukuda, a 25-year-old dive instructor for the Past Time dive shop, ascended with Morita after being informed that the student was panicking.

Police said other divers who witnessed the incident believed that an emergency situation was happening, saying that Morita and Fukuda were ascending very fast. Fukuda's body was found after a search the following day.

Citing findings of a police investigation, the DPS spokesman said that Fukuda and six female student divers, including Morita, went to the Grotto at about 3pm Saturday. Within 10 minutes underwater, the group was about 25 meters deep.

At that time, David said Fukuda was conducting advance course lessons for two students, Morita and Naomi Tsumura. The group then proceeded outside the Grotto about 20 meters deep.

Police said Tsumura noticed Morita panicking and notified the instructor about it. The group stayed at that level as Fukuda and Morita ascended.

Another group of divers approached the female group and asked the latter how much air was left in their scuba tanks. Sensing that the female group was low on air, a Japanese diving instructor signaled the woman to follow him and his group to the cavern and safely back up on the rock.

Several dive groups who were at the Grotto Saturday assisted in searching for Fukuda and Morita. Police could not say whether the water was rough on that day. Saipan was experiencing bad weather that day due to the passage of supertyphoon Haitang near the Marianas.

While volunteer divers found Morita underwater on the same day, they did not find Fukuda. Police dispatched a boat and searched for Fukuda, but failed to find the dive instructor on that day.

Police was about to resume search operations the next day when volunteers aboard the boat Zero found Fukuda and brought her to the Smiling Cove Marina. Both Fukuda and Morita were declared dead due to drowning