4 students drown, 2 others missing as river swells in Bulacan

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CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines — At least four students of the Bulacan State University (BSU) here drowned while two others were reported missing when a strong river current swept them away in San Miguel town on Tuesday afternoon, reports from the Bulacan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) showed.

Felicisima Mungcal, Bulacan PDRRMO head, said the victims, who have not been identified, as of this posting, were among a group of BSU tourism students who were visiting the Madlum cave in Barangay Sibul as part of a school field trip.

She said four busloads of BSU students and teachers were at the Madlum area for an exposure trip to the province’s tourism spots.

Mungcal said eight students were crossing the Madlum River when a strong current swept them away at 3 p.m. She said it was raining in the area that time.

She said the bodies of four students were recovered while two other students were rescued and taken to a local hospital.

Rescue teams from the San Miguel municipal disaster risk reduction and management office, the Philippine Army and the provincial government have started scouring the Madlum River to find the two missing students on Tuesday afternoon.