6-year-old boy who drowned in Cebu river found

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The body of a six-year-old boy was fished out from the coastal waters off Barangay Tinaan, Naga City about 3 p.m. on Monday, three hours after he was swept by the floodwaters while trying to retrieve his slippers from the river.

The body of Christian Dave Alferez was caught in a fisherman’s fishnet, about nine kilometers from Pangdan River in the mountain village of Lutak.

The boy lived with his grandparents in a shanty built close to the Pangdan River and about 6 kilometers from the main road.

Rey Montalaba of the Naga City Emergency Response Team said there was downpour in the mountain village of Naga City from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday.

When the rain stopped, the boy went out to play in the river. He was about to go home but decided to go back to the river to pick up his slippers when he was swept by floodwaters from the upland that flowed into Pangdan River.