Driver drowns as backhoe capsizes in Hinigaran river

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A 49-year-old driver drowned after being trapped when an amphibious backhoe capsized in the river during clearing operations at the Reclamation area in Barangay 1, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, on Friday.

Police identified the victim as “Harvey,” a resident of Barangay Miranda in Hinigaran.

Police Lt. Col. Jovil Sedel, chief of the Hinigaran Municipal Police Station, said the heavy equipment owned by the municipal government was being used to remove soil from the riverbed for shell collection.

He said the softened soil caused the equipment to tilt to the left until it submerged.

Rescuers responded after the incident was reported to authorities at 9:25 a.m., about an hour after it occurred.

The driver was retrieved about an hour later and was declared dead in a hospital, according to police.