2 Russians dead, one loses arms in apparent shark attack off Batangas

Philippine Coast Guard personnel find the remains of a Russian diver in Verde Island. Photo from the PCG.

MANILA, Philippines — Two Russian tourists died in a suspected shark attack after being swept away by strong waves off Verde Island Passage in Batangas province on Thursday evening, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

One of them had both of his arms missing.

READ: Fishermen in Palawan find human arm inside shark’s belly

The fatalities were identified as Ilya Perigudin, 29, and Maksim Melekhov, 39.

They were part of a group of four divers and a dive master who departed from Puerto Galera to Verde Island to do scuba diving.

They were on board the recreational boat “D’ Ocean Riders,” which had departed from De Luna Diving Center, Barangay Aninuan, Puerto Galera at 9:30 a.m. for diving activity.

The boat dropped off the group of tourists at Sawang Dive Camp before proceeding to Pulong Bato for a second dive.

However, at 1:30 p.m., they were swept by a strong current, and only two of them, Eduart Perigudin, 57; and his 18-year old son, were able to get out of the water.

“They encountered strong underwater currents, causing them to be separated,” PCG said.

Melekhov was taken to a nearby hospital in Batangas City but was declared dead on arrival.

A search and rescue operation was conducted for Perigudin on Thursday afternoon, with his remains being found later in the night. His body was recovered and was transferred to a nearby funeral service parlor.

Initially, PCG said only the right arm of Perigudin was missing, but it said in a follow-up report that both of his arms were missing  “due to an apparent shark attack.”

“The incident could allegedly be a result of a shark attack due to the presence of sharks in the vicinity waters,” the PCG’s initial statement on Friday reads.

“Witnesses and rescuers noted that his remains had sustained severe trauma consistent with a shark attack—both his left and right arms were missing, and several sharks were seen in the immediate vicinity,” it adds. With reports from Sheba Barr, INQUIRER.net trainee