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.
PHOTO courtesy of Adet Abejuela Abelido
TACLOBAN CITY — A Department of Health (DoH) nurse died after the concrete slab of a waiting shed collapsed and crushed him while he was waiting for a boat after conducting a vaccination drive in an island barangay in Catbalogan City on Thursday.
Kelvin Castro, 35, assigned to the Catbalogan City Health Office, had just completed a measles and rubella vaccination drive in Barangay Canhawan Guti when he stopped to rest at the small port, which also serves as a waiting shed for boat passengers.
The concrete structure suddenly collapsed, trapping Castro underneath the debris.
“He was trapped beneath the concrete debris. His companions tried to revive him, but they could not save him,” Margarito Abuejela, an uncle of the victim, said.
Residents said the waiting shed had been showing cracks for a long time, but barangay officials had not placed warning signs about the potential danger, leaving visitors unaware of its condition.
Island residents, including a daycare teacher from the City Social Welfare and Development Office, helped pull Castro from the debris.
When the boat arrived, Castro was immediately taken to the Samar Provincial Hospital on the mainland. He was declared dead on arrival.
Barangay Canhawan Guti is one of seven barangays on Sierra Island off Catbalogan City.
Castro had been conducting the DoH’s Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity in the island barangay. The DoH is targeting more than 50,000 children aged six to 59 months across Samar province for measles and rubella vaccination and Vitamin A supplementation.
The Catbalogan City Police Office is investigating the incident.
