By Erwin Beleo
BACNOTAN, La Union – A 53-year-old man was already dead when he was retrieved by rescuers after he fell into a 27-foot deep well at Barangay Cabugao Tuesday, May 19, here.
Police identified the victim as Alfredo B. Beltran, married and resident of Barangay Cabugao.
According to an initial investigation, Lourdes K. Gallete, owner of the deep well, asked Beltran if he could clean the well, which is locally known as a “balon”.
Beltran, together with a helper Alejo B. Almoite, 60, worked on cleaning the well.
However, when the victim was already inside the well, he shouted for help, saying that he couldn’t breathe and that he was drowning.
Almoite reportedly tried to rescue him, but he found himself in a bind and also couldn’t breathe, forcing him to climb out of the well.
Rescuers arrived and were able to retrieve the victim’s body after several hours, and pronounced Beltran dead.