High-school student drowns off Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines—A high-school student drowned while his two female classmates, who tried to save him, were rescued when they went swimming at a beach in Naga City on Friday morning, a police official said.

Marjun Canque, 16, of Barangay Pitalo in nearby San Fernando town was carried away by strong waves at around 10:30 a.m. while swimming in the coastal waters off Barangay Langtad, according to P01 Cleofas Cabrera of the Naga City Police Station.

Canque’s two female classmates—Annabelle Dejito, 14, of Banragay Langtad and Pannycar Lastimosa, 14, also of Pitalo, San Fernando—were rescued by a resident in the area who happened to be passing by.

The three were part of a group of second year students of Langtad National High School who had just finished taking their periodical test Friday morning.

Because it was still early, the students decided to swim in the beach behind the PNOC building.

Canque, who was the first to enter the water, was suddenly carried away by the waves, Cabrera said.

The two girls dashed to rescue their classmate but Dejito ended up saving Lastimosa, who was flailing her arms and choking.

A local resident, Danilo Librero, who was in the area by dove into the waters and pulled the girls to safety.

Lastimosa was brought to South General Hospital in Naga City where she was reportedly in serious condition, Cabrera said.

Coast Guard and Bureau of Fire Protection personnel responded with a search and rescue operation after the other students in the group tried but failed to find Canque.

The search team found the victim’s body floating in an area behind the PNOC building at around 2:30 p.m., four hours after he disappeared.