Successive drowning incidents leave 2 minors dead

Emergency responders rescued an 11-year-old boy and retrieved the bodies of two drowning victims following separate incidents in Barangay San Roque on 21 and 22 August.

The La Paz Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, alongside local police and firefighters, responded to the first emergency on 21 August after receiving reports that two minors were swept away.

First responders pulled the 11-year-old boy alive from the water, while a search team retrieved the body of a 14-year-old boy shortly afterward.

Later that afternoon, emergency agencies received a report of a second drowning incident in another area of the same barangay. Responders launched search and retrieval operations but suspended efforts at 6 p.m. due to strong water currents and safety risks.

Operations resumed at 7:10 a.m. on 22 August with reinforced support from the Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Philippine Air Force, the Bureau of Fire Protection Special Rescue Unit, the Philippine Army’s 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, and local volunteer fishermen.

The joint rescue team located and retrieved the body of the male victim at approximately 4:25 p.m. on 22 August before concluding operations.