Rescue teams search for missing teener in Pampanga River

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MANILA, Philippines — Two rescue teams from the police and military scoured the downstream sections of the Pampanga River in San Simon town on Sunday to retrieve the body of Noel Tuazon, who drowned on Saturday afternoon, at the height of tropical depression Ferdie.

Benjamin Santos, chief of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management council, said Tuazon, 15, jumped off a boat.

Tuazon and his classmates were traveling from Barangay San Nicolas to the San Pedro High School to practice for a dance number but he dove into the water as their boat was nearing the river bank, Santos said.

Also on Sunday, the Pampanga River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center advised residents along the banks of the Pampanga River in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pampanga to be alert for flashfloods due to high tide and swelling of rivers.

High tide also caused water to rise in coastal villages of Hagonoy, Calumpit and Obando towns in Bulacan.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Central Luzon said the Bustos Dam in Bulacan released a minimal volume of water, which did not cause flooding in nearby areas.

In Pangasinan, authorities on Sunday had to postpone search operations for four Bolinao fishermen who were reported missing on Friday.

The OCD in the Ilocos region had asked the Philippine Coast Guard to deploy helicopters but heavy rains made flights impossible on Sunday, said Ronald Talagtag of the OCD Ilocos operations center.

“No chopper would be coming from Metro Manila, which is experiencing heavy rains. We could not also use rescue boats because of strong waves,” he said.

(With reports from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon)