Map of Hermosa, Bataan (Google image)
HERMOSA, Bataan – Four children, including three siblings, drowned in Almacen River here Tuesday afternoon.
In a police report released Tuesday night, Maj. Jeffrey Onde, Hermosa police chief, identified the victims as twin sisters AC and AJ Magtanong, 11; Reynalyn Magtanong, 13; and Gabriel Santos, 11, all residents of Barangay A. Rivera, this town.
Onde said the children, when they were swimming, apparently did not notice they already drifted to a portion of the river described by residents to be at least 10-foot deep.
The victims were declared dead on arrival at the Orani District Hospital.
In an interview with the victims' parents on Wednesday, they said they still could not accept what happened to their children who, like other kids, had big plans for their future.
Maria Clarice Sibayan, Santos’ mother, said her son who was a Grade 5 pupil, did not ask her permission to go to the river.
Rosalie Magtanong, mother of the twins, also said her children “escaped” because she wanted them to go to sleep. She said AC and AJ who were in Grade 6, would celebrate their 12th birthday on March 26.
It was learned that operators of boats for hire in Barangay Almacen helped in the search and rescue operations for the victims together with the Hermosa Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and other residents in the area.
Probers are still digging deeper into the incident. (PNA)
