Boy, 7, found dead in CDO river; Seaman drowns in MisOr

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Search and rescue teams on Monday recovered the body of a 7-year-old boy found floating along the riverbank near City Hall.

Personnel from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team and Philippine Coast Guard divers resumed operations and located the victim along the Cagayan de Oro River.

Authorities said the boy drowned while swimming along the riverside in Barangay Balulang at about 2 p.m. Sunday.

The victim, identified as Ethan, was last seen wading along the riverbank at around 1 p.m. with several companions.

City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department head Nick Jabagat said search and retrieval operations were extended downstream up to Macajalar Bay before the body was recovered.

Arturo Villason, the boy’s grandfather, said he went to the riverside to look for his grandson but only found a pair of slippers left along the riverbank.

Villason said he had warned the child not to swim in the area, which he described as accident-prone, but the boy apparently ignored the warning.

Jabagat said the site has been identified as an accident-prone area and that the barangay had earlier been instructed to deploy guards. He added that the riverbank has been declared off-limits for swimming.

Meanwhile, in Lagonglong town in Misamis Oriental, a 63-year-old seaman drowned after falling from a jet ski and being dragged while being pulled by a speedboat at a private resort.

Ferdinando Dy of the Misamis Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said the victim, identified only as Eddie, was scheduled to return to work after Holy Week.