By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

THE brother of one of the four students who drowned in the waters off Forbidden Island says the search and rescue team arrived about two hours after the distress call was made.
Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Lei Ogumoro declined to confirm this.
She referred this reporter to the acting police director, Aniceto Ogumoro, who was not available as of press time.
Ku Jung Kun, the older brother of Ku Jung Hwan, and their friend Judy Kim said they are not trying to blame anyone.
They said they just want to avoid future accidents.
“The rescue team came two hours after and there was no boat ( immediately dispatched). I want to know what happened exactly,” Ku Jung Kun, 26, told Variety in an interview yesterday.
“This is definitely not a blaming game,” said Kim, adding that all they want is a faster response to distress calls in the future.
The victim went hiking on Friday at Forbidden Island along with 16 other exchange students participating in a church-oriented youth fellowship program.
Five students were swept out to sea after being hit by big wave. Four of them drowned.
Ku Jung Kun said the remaining students weren’t able to use their mobile phones because the area was a “dead zone.”
Some students eventually walked from the site to make a mobile phone call to the police.
The accident occurred around 2 p.m. last Friday.
According to the Department of Public Safety, it got the distress call at 2:39 p.m.
But some witnesses said the search and rescue team didn’t arrive until about two hours later.
Ku Jung Kun said he wants to find out if the government has the proper equipment for rescue operations.
He said his brother was still alive when rescued.
He said his father, a deep sea diver who was in Indonesia at the time of the accident, is coming to the island.
According to Ku Jung Kun, they are willing to volunteer their time to help the government train more people to rescue distress victims at sea to avoid similar fatal accidents.
Northern Marianas College is holding a memorial service for the four victims today at 3 p.m.
Besides 24-year-old Ku Jung Hwan, who was buried on Tuesday at Tanapag cemetery, the other drowning victims were Mi Ra Yang, 20, Sang Won Seo, 19, and Jin Ah Kim, 18.
Their remains were flown to Seoul, South Korea where they will be buried.
Kim and Ku Jung Kun said their families are extremely grateful to the local community for helping them.
“My mom wants to thank everyone on Saipan. They helped us a lot,” said Ku Jung Kun. His family moved to Saipan in 1993.
He and his brother attended William S. Reyes Elementary School, Hopwood Jr. High School, Marianas High School and NMC.
He described his brother as very “loyal and selfless.”
“He never spoke about himself. Always about other people,” said Kim.