A 19-year-old boy on Wednesday drowned while swimming in a spring in Loboc town after joining a fluvial procession conducted at the Loboc River to commemorate the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines.
According to Staff Sgt. Urven Molina of the Loboc Police Station, the teenager identified as Michael Cagas, a resident of Loay, went missing while swimming with friends at the spring in Barangay Gotozon starting at 11 a.m.
When his companions noticed that the victim was gone, they searched the spring but could not find him prompting them to alert the authorities.
“Nagsakay ni sila og banka unya pag-abot nila aning Loctob nangaligo unya mga 12 manguli na pud unta sila kay ting paniudto naman pero paghaw-ang nila sa tubig, wa na kuno ni ilang kauban. Mao ilang gipangita,” said Molina.
The town’s police, in turn, deployed divers to the site leading to the discovery of the boy’s remains some three feet underwater.
The rescuers still tried to resuscitate the victim but he was already unresponsive.
“Gi CPR ni siya kay diha may medical team pud pero wa na, gi-declare dead na,” he said.
Based on the findings of Municipal Health Office Dr. Joel Espella, the cause of death was respiratory failure secondary to drowning.
Meanwhile, witnesses told investigators that the victim did not know how to swim. (A. Doydora)