Three kids drown in Iloilo

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

Three children died from drowning in a river in Pototan, Iloilo morning of Oct 14, 2020.

The victims were identified as John Arnold Peñafiel, 10, and his brother, 6-year old Arnold Peñafiel, Jr., both of Pitogo, Pototan; and their relative Rogelyn Dolendes, 9, of Barangay Intaluan, Pototan.

Major Ciriaco Esquilarga, Pototan police chief, said the three victims were with a group of children who went fishing in a river in Intaluan, a village more than 10 kilometers from Pototan town proper.

But the three later decided to take a dip.

Esquilarga said a sudden surge in water current may have swept the children away.

Their relatives and the Mountain Tigers Search and Rescue Pototan Unit tried to rescue the kids.

Esquilarga said it didn’t take long before the victims were retrieved from the water.

“In fact, one of them was still moving when brought to the hospital,” he said.

But medical personnel from the Iloilo Provincial Hospital in Pototan town declared the three victims dead on arrival.