DOH nurse Kelvin Castro is seen resting on the waiting shed before the concrete slab collapsed and hit him hard on the head. The photo was taken only a few minutes before the tragedy occurred.
Adet Abejuela Abelido
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TACLOBAN CITY — A Department of Health nurse died after a concrete waiting shed collapsed on him Thursday, 27 August, shortly after he conducted a vaccination drive in an island barangay in Catbalogan City.
Kelvin Castro, 35, assigned to the Catbalogan City Health Office, had just finished administering vaccines under the DOH’s Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity in Barangay Canhawan Guti.
Castro was resting at a small port that also serves as a waiting shed while waiting for a boat back to the mainland when its overhead concrete slab suddenly collapsed.
“He was trapped beneath the concrete debris. His companions tried to revive him, but they could not save him,” Castro’s uncle, Margarito Abuejela, said.
Residents and a daycare teacher helped pull Castro from the debris. He was rushed by boat to Samar Provincial Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Residents claimed the waiting shed had visible cracks for some time but had no warning signs alerting visitors to the potential danger.
Barangay Canhawan Guti is one of seven barangays on Sierra Island off Catbalogan City.
The DOH vaccination campaign aims to immunize more than 50,000 children aged 6 to 59 months against measles and rubella and provide Vitamin A supplementation across Samar.
Catbalogan City police are investigating the incident.
