SAN JOSE, Antique – Rescuers retrieved the body of a 7-year-old boy who drowned in a river in Barangay Bugarot.
Personnel from the Water Search and Retrieval Team of San Jose fished Justin Sumande out of the river around 11:55 a.m. on July 26.
Sumande, a Grade 1 pupil of Banusing Cerdeña Elementary School, was found about a kilometer from a makeshift bamboo bridge where he fell, said Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Broderick Train.
Sumande fell off the bridge around 3:30 p.m. on July 25. He was on his way home from school at the time.
Sumande’s aunt, identified only as “Mayang,” was with him.
Mayang was unable to help Sumande when he fell as she was carrying a baby and holding another toddler while crossing the bridge.
Mayang shouted for help but the bridge was located was several meters away from houses in the village, causing delay in response.
Some villagers tried to find Sumande who disappeared in the river but failed. Rescuers then came.
After a search and retrieval operation that lasted for hours, they found Sumande’s body covered in debris.
Train said the heavy downpours in the past week prompted the river to overflow.
Meanwhile, barangay officials said there are six makeshift bamboo bridges in the village that are being maintained twice a year./PN
