BACOLOD CITY – Rescuers retrieved the bodies of the two teenagers at the Matab-ang River in Barangay Zone 15, Talisay City, Negros Occidental Friday, two days after they were reported missing due to drowning in Barangay Mandalagan here.
Police identified the fatalities as Karl Gabriel Cabrillos, 16, and Jaren Pahilagao, 15, both residents of Barangay Mandalagan.
The two victims were among the three minors who drowned while swimming in the river in their barangay. Their three other companions survived the tragedy.
The body of Cabrillos was found by a fisherman floating on the river around 6:30 a.m. while Pahilagao was found by a construction worker floating near the Matab-ang riverbank around 2:30 p.m.
According to Cabrillos’ 13-year-old younger brother, the victim saved him by pushing him to the riverbank before the strong current of the water brought by heavy rains reached him.
Cabrillos was supposed to celebrate his birth anniversary last July 18.
Last Thursday, 16-year-old Janet Rodriguez was also found dead on the same river, which is connected to a river in Barangay Mandalagan. (Glazyl Masculino)