BACOLOD CITY - The bodies of two persons, who were among the four individuals reported missing after a flashflood was spawned by the Alingasaw-Kabayabasan overflow in Barangay Montilla, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, were retrieved by authorities the following day.
Reynald Horegue, head of Municipal Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), identified the fatalities as Danilo Banaag, 17, and his uncle Roldan Banaag Sr., 50.
Horegue said a family of 11 from Hinigaran town went to a birthday party of a relative in Barangay Magallon Cadre in Moises Padilla town earlier that day when they decided to visit their other relative at the adjacent Barangay Montilla later that day.
Six of them passed through the hanging bridge, while five others rode separately in two tricycles and tried to cross the overflow. But a flashflood came and swept them away, according to Horegue.
“It was not raining at that time, but the water from the upland portion, where it probably rained, hit them,” he added.
Danilo was found in Barangay Guinpanaan around 8:45 a.m. while his uncle was found three hours later in Barangay Bungahin, Isabela town. They were already bloated and had injuries when their bodies probably slammed into rocks, Horegue said.
Roldan Banaag Jr., 21 survived when he was reportedly able to swim to the bank of the river, but his mother Jovelyn, 48, and their neighbor Edmund Samson, 17 were still missing as of press time, Horegue said.