Boy missing after being swept by strong current in Mandaue River

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A six-year-old boy was missing in Mandaue City after he was swept by strong current after jumping into the river past noon Tuesday.

Two siblings were also hurt after a boulder fell on their bunkhouse inside the Carmen Copper mining site in Toledo City, about 50 kilometers west of Cebu City.

Rescuers were looking for John Lloyd Cañete, 6, of Barangay (village) Maguikay who was last seen being in Butuan River, Mandaue.

Police Officer 1 Earl Famador of the Mandaue City Police Office said the boy was playing with his friends at the riverbank about 12:30 p.m. when he was egged to jump into the river.

He did and was swept by the current, said Famador.

In Toledo City, two siblings were hurt when a boulder fell into their bunkhouse while they were sleeping past midnight Tuesday in Sitio Hayunan, Media Once, Toledo City.

Dayday Pañares, 8, suffered minor injuries in the head while younger brother, Marvin 7, had multiple lacerations in the right leg and a close fracture in the left leg.

They were rescued by their parents – Danilo and Elemeteria – who brought them to the Toledo District Hospital at 5:40 a.m. on Tuesday. The parents had difficulty getting to the hospital due to the bad weather. The road was also difficult to traverse.

Marvin was later transferred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

The children and their parents were sleeping inside the bunkhouse, which was located below the cliff, when the boulder fell on it amid incessant rains on Monday.

Senior Police Officer 4 Gil Lastimosa of Toledo City Police station said the family used the bunkhouse as temporary residence ever since Danilo was tapped as caretaker of the bunkhouse of the workers of the Carmen Copper Corporation.