A HAPPY bonding turned tragic after two minors drowned while their three friends survived at the sea waters off Barangay Sampinit in Bago City, Negros Occidental at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, May 22, 2022.
Lieutenant Joseph Jaro, deputy police chief for operations of Bago City Police Station, identified the fatalities as Jemuel Padilla and Lean Flor, both 14 years old and residents of the barangay’s Purok Tonggoy.
Jaro said the fatalities were rescued an hour after they were submerged into the sea, a few meters away from where they swam.
The teenagers were brought to Bago City Hospital by the city’s rescue team but were declared dead on arrival.
The other three, who were all minors, survived the incident after they were rescued by concerned citizens right away, Jaro added.
The survivors claimed that they were swimming near the shorelines of Purok Mahidaiton when the sea water level rose.
Prior to the incident, the teenagers told their parents that they would go for a jog but later decided to swim, investigator Master Sergeant Mars Anthony Luto said.
Luto said that the victims apparently don’t know how to swim, adding that the area where they drowned is often visited by nearby residents.
The victims’ bodies are now at the Baxter Funeral Homes in Bago City.