Second in 2 weeks Saipan waters claimed another life

What started out as an afternoon of refreshing water sports turned out to be a traumatic experience for a Japanese tourist and death for her companion.

Exactly a fortnight after local hero Galileo “Kaily” Torwal died to save a Japanese couple from a tragic parasailing adventure, another pair of Japanese tourists fell prey to a freak diving accident at the Grotto Saturday.

While the female tourist only sustained minor cuts and scrapes on both elbows, her male companion, Akihisa Takeda, 44, was pronounced dead an hour after rescuers recovered his body from the water.

At around 3:30pm, the Department of Public Safety received an alert that prompted Boating Safety officers to respond to the emergency call at the Grotto.

At the scene, Hotel Nikko’s S2 Club dive master informed police officers that two divers on his team had been swept by a powerful wave as they poised to hop to another side of the rock.

“According to the report, the water condition that day was very rough. So as they were trying to get to the other side of the rock to dive, a big wave came and dragged the two victims into the water — which caused the victim to drown,” said DPS spokesperson Cecil Seles during a press briefing yesterday.

When DPS arrived, the female victim was found to be suffering from minor bodily injuries. On another corner, rescuers performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the male victim in an attempt to rejuvenate breathing back to his system.

The 44-year-old Japanese tourist was pronounced dead at 4:45pm that same day, upon arrival at the Commonwealth Health Center.

The survivor, who has not been admitted to CHC, was treated for minor cuts and scrapes.

The latest drowning fatality is the second water recreation-related incident to end tragically on Saipan seas since Jan. 21, 2001 which has caused the death of two victims.

Mr. Torwal earlier died while saving the life of Japanese couple Kohei Mase, 51 and his wife, Takako, 50.

The late hero, who was employed by BSEA Inc., joined a parasailing trip with the Mase couple last month when the boat suddenly stopped due to engine trouble.

The abrupt halt caused the tourists to fall into the water. Mr. Torwal, who was fondly referred to as “Kaily” by his friends, immediately jumped to their rescue and succeeded in bringing the two Japanese back to the boat.

Without warning, Kaily suddenly disappeared not to be found until later. Unresponsive to CPR, rescuers rushed him to the local health center where he was pronounced clinically dead.