Rescuers looking for missing boy in Catbalogan river

Rescuers try to locate the 12-year-old boy who accidentally fell in a river in Barangay San Andres, Catbalogan City. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

ORMOC CITY –– Rescuers are searching for a 12-year-old boy who has been missing in a river in Barangay San Andres, Catbalogan City  since 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 5.

Authorities said Bartolome Pabillar may have fallen on the deeper portion of the river.

Patrolman Reynaldo Estrelles, case investigator of the Catbalogan City police, said the victim, along with several classmates and friends, went swimming at the San Andres River when the incident happened.

Two of Pabillar’s companions fought. During the incident, one of them unintentionally hit the victim with his elbow. Pabillar subsequently fell into the river.

Estrelles said the companions of the victim immediately reported the incident to the barangay personnel, who immediately called rescue groups from the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Tacloban City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for help./lzb