INQUIRER FILES
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — An 11-year-old boy who joined his friends for a picnic in a river at Barangay Pasonanca, about 5.6 km away from the town correct, drowned when the river instantly swelled and swept him away by the present on New 12 months’s Day.
Abdul Aziz Yapong, 11, a resident of Barangay Santa Catalina, had already been within the water for hours and was oblivious to the swelling of the river whose sturdy present had swept him away, and he ended up in one of many culverts.
Rescuers recovered his physique at Pasonanca spillway, Kilometer 7 in Higher Pasonanca, shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 1, in line with Elmeir Apolinario, the Metropolis Catastrophe Threat Discount and Administration Officer right here.
Stricter swimming restrictions
Apolinario stated the boy was the primary reported fatality on this metropolis for 2025, however related incidents previously 12 months prompted him to see the necessity to impose restrictions on swimming in some rivers the place there have been histories of accidents and deaths.
“I’ve not come throughout [an ordinance] that prohibits individuals from swimming in rivers until it’s within the watershed space or the protected zone,” he stated in an interview.
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“I’ve to look into some instances previously as a foundation for laws for the protection of residents. We will even talk about this matter with the barangays on find out how to forestall related occurrences,” Apolinario added.
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READ: ‘Baywatch cops’ tapped to curb Central Luzon drowning incidents
Final December 25, four-year-old Ameer Zayn Joepakkal, drowned whereas his household was doing the laundry within the Tulungatung River in Barangay Tulungatung.
On account of a sudden gush of river water following days of heavy rains, Ameer was carried away by the swelling river, his physique was discovered the subsequent day in one other barangay.
On July 12, six individuals, three of them minors, died as a result of sudden swelling of the river and landslides in a number of barangays right here.
Among the many victims, Nica Ortega, 29, and her son JM died within the landslide at Sitio Anuling, Barangay Pamucutan; Leonilo Moret, 47, and his son Justine, 10, additionally from Sitio Anuling, Barangay Pamucutan, drowned within the river on the peak of the floods; whereas Jose Ray Francisco, 53, of Barangay Vitali, and Sonnyboy Jamal, 9, of Barangay Calarian, additionally drowned in a river.
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