7-year-old boy drowns in construction pit

MANILA, Philippines – Playing in the rain turned out to be deadly for a 7-year-old boy in Tondo, Manila, who was drowned in a construction site pit in his neighborhood early Sunday morning.

The last time kindergartener Jimmy Laurio of Hamabar St., Dagupan, Tondo was seen alive was on Saturday morning, when he asked his mother, Celia, if he could go out and play in the rain.

The boy never made it home alive. His floating body, clad only in black shorts, was found the day after in a hole at the construction site his father, Jaime, works for on nearby J. Basa St.

It was Jaime himself that made the grim discovery. He fished out his son from the pit and tried to revive him, to no avail.

When police from the Manila Police District came to investigate the case, they found Jimmy finally home with his parents – but no longer alive. His body bore no signs of physical injuries.

Case investigator SPO2 Glenzor Antonio Vallejo of the MPD homicide section told media they believe the boy had decided to wade into the pooled water in the construction pit, thinking it was shallow.

Police surmised Laurio probably failed to find a foothold or something to hang onto. Since he had gone out to play alone, the ;police said, the victim probably had no one watching over him to help him out.

Nevertheless, Vallejo said they have placed the case under further investigation.