Girl, 6, dies in Passi City drowning

ILOILO CITY — A 6-year-old girl was believed to have drowned in Passi City, Iloilo.

The body of alias Cherry, a resident of Barangay Gemumua Agahon, Passi City, was found around 7:45 p.m. Sept. 22 at Sitio Tac-Un in the same barangay.

Responding personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection brought the victim to Don Valerio Palmares Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Passi City, where she was declared dead on arrival.

According to reports, Cherry’s 20-year-old mother, Nina, asked her to get their laundry from the house of the victim’s grandmother.

Although the house was nearby, the girl had to cross a river.

Police Lt. Col. German Magbanua, Passi City police chief, said the girl had to cross the river using an improvised wooden pathway.

“She could have slipped and fell on the river,” he said.

At the time, the river was about 3 to 4 feet deep.

Magbanua said the girl could have been carried away by the strong current.

After she failed to return home for about 30 minutes, relatives began looking for her.

Cherry’s uncle, John, later found her trapped among tree branches about a kilometer from where she was believed to have fallen into the river.

The victim’s remains were brought to Chavez Funeral Homes pending an autopsy.