Seminarian from Cameroon drowns in QC retreat center pool
MANILA, Philippines — A seminarian from the Republic of Cameroon drowned before noon Tuesday in a seminary swimming pool in Quezon City.
Martin Mbende, 31, a native of the west Central African country, was pronounced dead by doctors of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Hospital at around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Police Officer 2 George Caculba, of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), said that drowning happened at around 10:30 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Novitiate and Retreat Center along Quirino Highway, Barangay (village) Pasong Putik in Novaliches.
Caculba said that before his death, Mbende had been taking a dip alone in the pool behind the seminary.
Jesuit priest, Fr. Roy Cenon Ragas was in a nearby cottage meditating when he heard splashing from the pool. He dismissed it as somebody swimming laps in the pool and resumed praying.
Minutes later when Ragas emerged from the cottage, he saw the unconscious Mbende in the bottom of the pool prompting him to plunge in after the seminarian.
The priest and other caretakers of the seminary immediately brought Mbende to the nearest hospital to try to revive him but the effort proved futile.
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