Climber’s body retrieved from Mt. Apo’s ‘enchanted’ lake

Scuba divers retrieved on Sunday, the body of a mountain climber who drowned in a lake below the peak of the majestic Mt. Apo in Davao City, GMA's 24 Oras reported on Monday. Ian Caasi, scaled the 9,691-foot mountain on Maundy Thursday with fellow climbers of the Mindanao Alliance Mountaineering Club of Davao City. It was not the first incident that Mt. Apo claimed the life of a mountain climber. In the past, a number of climbers also died of drowning in Lake Venado, which many believe is enchanted. Reports said that about 4:30 p.m. on April 5, Caasi took a dip in the crystal clear waters of the 20-foot deep lake that was wrapped by old, giant trees. The lake rests on the 7,200-foot portion of the mountain, above sea level. The retrieval of his body, took a while due to the thick, blinding fog and difficult terrain, 24 Oras said. The Philippine Air Force earlier deployed rescue helicopters to Mt. Apo along with five rescue personnel. Eight rescuers from the office of Civil Defense 12 were also in the area. Rescuers reportedly stopped the retrieval operation Friday afternoon due to the cold water temperature and the lack of needed equipment. Moises Sernal, PNOC security officer, said the rescue team decided to just wait for the body to float for it to be retrieved. - GMANews.TV