5 drown in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon on Sunday picnics

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LUCENA CITY — At least five people, including three children, drowned in separate incidents on Sunday, April 28, in Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon provinces, the Police Region 4A (PRO-4A) said in a report Monday, April 29.

One of the fatalities was Rachel Asestre, 24, who went for a swim in Bunga Falls at Barangay Bunga in Nagcarlan, Laguna, on Sunday, along with her fellow factory workers.

Around 4 p.m., her friends noticed Asestre missing and sought help from barangay tanod.

An hour later, her body was recovered and was brought to a hospital, but doctors declared her dead on arrival (DOA) from alleged drowning.

READ: PNP logs 63 drowning, near-drowning incidents in March

Another picnicker, Sean Cartina, 6, was with his family from Victoria town on an outing at a resort in Barangay Bangyas in Calauan town in Laguna.

At around 11 a.m., his family noticed Sean missing while swimming in the children’s pool.

His father found him lying unconscious at the bottom of the pool. He was taken to the nearest hospital but died on the way.

In Batangas province, police in Malvar town reported that Rhenz Nathan Bueta, 7, and his uncle, Jayson Bueta, went swimming in a river in Barangay Poblacion.

At 2:10 p.m., the boy drifted to a deeper part of the river and consequently drowned.

Jayson found the boy at the bottom of the river. He was rushed to a local hospital but was also declared dead on arrival.

In Lemery town, also in Batangas, Faith Miranda, 4, drowned at 5:20 p.m. in a swimming pool at a resort in Barangay Nonong Casto.

READ: PNP: 72 Holy Week deaths due to drowning nationwide

She was brought to a hospital in Batangas City, but was also declared dead on arrival.

In Lucena City in Quezon province, Erwin Amarillo, who was allegedly drunk, and some friends went to swim around 4 p.m. in the waters off Tayabas Bay in Barangay Talao-Talao.

At 5:50 p.m., his companions saw his body some 10 meters away from the shoreline.

Police are conducting further investigations. The remains of the victim will be subjected to a post-mortem examination and autopsy to determine the cause of his death. The police listed the incident as a case of drowning. INQ