A five-year-old boy drowned while swimming in waters off Isola di Francecso, a popular destination in Panglao, on Wednesday morning.

According to PO2 Joseph Pintac, personnel at the island found the boy’s lifeless body floating at sea at around 2 p.m. on the same day.

Authorities said that the boy may have gone unnoticed when he accidentally reached the deeper parts of the sea late Wednesday morning.

The victim’s family initially thought that the boy had left the island ahead of them, as they could not find him when they were about to leave, said Pintac.

The family believed that the boy went on another pumpboat with relatives to go back to the mainland.

Upon reaching the mainland, they found out that the boy was missing.

They immediately reported the incident to police, but was informed that the boy’s lifeless body had been found. (ad)