A MAN died after he went swimming in Sitio Dawis, Barangay Lamintak Norte in the northern town of Medellin, Cebu.
The victim was identified as 30-year-old welder Celestino Ursal, a native of Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
SSgt. Glenn Sollano, investigating officer of the Medellin Police Station, told SunStar Cebu the incident happened around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, but it wasn’t reported until two hours later.
Based on initial investigation, Celestino was swimming with four male relatives who were all minors when he suddenly left them.
A few minutes later, a group of teens found him sitting on the embankment 15 meters away. He looked like he had just vomited and he had blood in his mouth.
According to Celestino’s brother Jeffrey, the victim had a lung operation five years ago and had been vomiting since.
Jeffrey said their family had advised Celestino to stop working so he could recover from his illness. Celestino was also diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Sollano said the victim arrived in Barangay Lamintak Norte last week to stay at his aunt’s house for a short vacation.
He said Celestino may have distanced himself from his relatives because the latter knew he’d be coughing up blood.
Celestino was rushed to the Bogo-Medellin Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.
Police ruled out foul play in his death.