By Vir B. Lumicao
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| The white sign board just beside the main stream warns people not to swim there |
Filipina picknickers were among those who were at a waterfall frequented by domestic workers in Tsuen Wan when a Nepalese woman went missing on Saturday, Jul 24, and was later found to have drowned.
Police said the 23-year-old drowning victim, who was not a domestic helper, and her Filipina friend, had gone to Tso Kung Tam Stream for a picnic. The two played in the water and, shortly later, the Filipina noticed that her friend was missing.
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Around 6pm, the Tsuen Wan Police District received a 999 call from the Filipina who reported that her Nepalese friend was missing, the spokeswoman said.
The police station was just about 400 meters from the waterfall, so rescue personnel arrived within minutes and launched a search assisted by a team of divers.
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The missing woman was later found unconscious in the water.
She was taken by ambulance to the
The officer said the victim’s death was classified as drowning.
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A group of Filipinas who were at the popular site at the same time said no one noticed that the victim was in trouble, until her friend went around asking the groups of visitors whether they had seen her companion.
“At past 5pm, the Filipina approached our group and asked if we had seen her Nepalese companion,” said Rachell Cipriano, an administrator of the Facebook group DWC Help Group who was at the picnic site with three friends at the time.
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“The Pinay said she last saw her friend swimming in the water while she was busy tidying up their belongings on the bank of the stream. When she looked again after about 10 minutes, her friend was gone,” Cipriano said.
The Filipina searched frantically for her friend for about half an hour and then approached Cipriano’s group again, crying.
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“I pointed out to her that her friend had been gone for some time but her belongings were still on the spot, so it’s not possible that she’d gone home. We advised her to call 999,” Cipriano said.
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| There are shallow parts of the stream where visitors can soak or swim safely |
Cipriano said there was quite a large crowd of about 40 people at the waterfall last Saturday. The water level was high because of the rains, she said.
When the other picnickers heard that a woman was missing, they packed up and left earlier than usual, said Cipriano. She added that two other Filipinas arrived, but they left after hearing that somebody had disappeared.
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The natural pool at the bottom of the main waterfall is estimated by swimmers to be more than 10 feet deep, and very few people swim there. But all around are shallow mini-pools where picknickers can soak or swim safely.
Just two Saturdays earlier, a Filipina who belongs to DWC slipped and fell into the stream during a picnic. Fortunately, her colleagues saw her struggling in the water and a member who was a swimmer rescued her.
Various signs posted at or near the waterfall warn people not to swim in the deep pool, saying people had already drowned there.
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