Engaged couple get in parasailing mishap during Boracay trip

An engaged couple found themselves in a potentially perilous situation when they ended up in the water during a parasailing adventure in Boracay—though they weren't aware of it at the time.

In Jonathan Andal's report on "24 Oras" on Monday, video shows Rhica Mae Bautista and her fiance's viewpoint as they parasailed in the air over the waters of the tourist island on October 7. 

The video then shows the parachute rope going slack as the boat towing them stops and they start descending until they hit the water.

Believing this to be a normal part of the parasailing experience, Rhica Mae and her fiance could be heard laughing in the video as they bobbed in the sea. On the boat, however, the operators were calling for assistance. 

When the rescue boat arrived, that was when Rhica Mae realized that their unscheduled dip wasn't supposed to happen. 

"Nag-dive sila pababa para tanggalin yung mga bakal na nakakabit, yung vest. Sabi nila, 'Ma'am, okay lang po ba kayo? May masakit po ba? May tumama po ba sa inyo?'"

(They dived underwater to remove the metal bits attached, the vest. They asked, 'Ma'am, are you okay? Does anything hurt? Did anything hit you?'")

When they were safely on the rescue vessel the couple were told that something had gone wrong with the boat's engine and that it may have run out of gas.

It later turned out that the boat's propeller had gotten caught in some seagrass.

"Kumain daw ng makapal na seagrass 'yung lower part ng makina," said Malay, Aklan Mayor Froilbar Bautista. "Hindi mauubos ang gasolina. Marami daw bago umalis, puno raw ng gasolina 'yun eh."

(The lower part of the engine ate some thick seagrass. They didn't run out of gasoline. Their gasoline was full when they left.)

The couple were not injured, save for sore behinds due to the impact with the water. Looking back, they worry about what could have happened with the large parachute over them, the ropes they were attached to, and the chances of sharks sensing them. 

"Baka mamaya may lumalangoy na sa ilalim namin," said Rhica Mae.

"'Yung parachute tsaka 'yung lubid po...yung nasa legs namin di ko siya matanggal...di kami makalangoy towards yung speedboat namin."

(There might have been something swimming underneath us...The parachute and the rope were at our legs and I couldn't remove them...we couldn't swim towards the speedboat.)

Despite this, the couple soon went up for another parasailing ride, this time with many more people watching over them making sure that nothing went wrong.

"Sayang naman yung binayad namin kung bad memories lang," said Rhica Mae.

(It would have been a waste of money if we only had bad memories.)

GMA Integrated News has reached out to the parasailing operator but they have not yet made an official announcement.

The couple have no plans to file a complaint, noting that they had signed a waiver before setting out. — BM, GMA Integrated News