2 suffocate to death in Benguet

Two tunnel workers in Benguet province died after getting suffocated Monday while attempting to fix a water source underground, police said Tuesday. Superintendent Arni Dean Emock, spokesman of the Cordillera Region police, identified the victims as Engineer Arnold Yapyapan, 49; and Jay-Ar Apanan, 25; both employed at a small-scale mining firm owned by a certain Mateo Daping. Initial investigation showed that the two entered the water source tunnel at the Millsite, Camp 6 in Tuba town about 9 a.m. together with a certain Rufino Basngi to fix the water pipes. Upon reaching inside, Yapyapan and Apanan allegedly collapsed due to lack of oxygen. Rufino fortunately managed to craw out of the tunnel and survived. He immediately reported the incident to police about 12:30 pm. Emock said the bodies of the two were recovered by a rescue team from the Philex Mining Corporation during retrieval operations at 4:45 pm. Yapyapan is a resident of Bauko, Mt. Province, while Apanan is from Baler, Aurora. - GMANews.TV