POLICE reported on Monday that a couple from Antipolo City in Rizal province drowned at the “death pool” in Pangasinan on Saturday, police said on Monday, June 24.
Cpt. Ross Brian Marmeto, this Agno, Pangasinan town’s police chief, identified the victims as Gonzalo Maglalang Jr., 47, and his wife, Emelita, 48.
Marmeto said the couple and their 25-year-old son, Eugene, were guests at a resort in the coastal village of Ilio-ilio in Burgos town, which takes pride in its white sand Cabongaoan beach.
After checking in and resting at the resort, the couple and their son decided to walk to the “death pool” at about 5 p.m. on June 22. The pool is a circular natural tidal pool etched on the coralline shores of Baruan village here.
It is enjoyed by tourists during low tide because they could jump into it as waves crash on its walls.
Marmeto said that tourists always check out the “death pool,” which had made the beach famous.
The natural pool is only about 400 meters from the resort where the Maglalang family checked in.
Marmeto said that Emelita may have slipped and fell down the pool while she posed for a photo at its edge.
“Seeing his wife fall, Gonzalo immediately jumped to rescue her. But the water current was strong at that time,” said Marmeto.
The bodies of the couple were retrieved at around 9 pm.
