KABACAN, North Cotabato (PNA) – Two youngsters drowned while seven others were rescued after they swam on a river dam here on Thursday afternoon, April 13. THE river dam in Barangay Kilada, Matalam, North Cotabato where two students drowned on Thursday, April 13. (Kabacan LGU FB)


Two others were confined in a hospital and are now in stable condition while the remaining five are safe, he said. “All of them are minor students and are residents here," Osoteo said, adding that the group went to the river during lunch break. He was unable to disclose to identify the school pending an ongoing query. According to Osoteo, the incident took place around 1:30 p.m. at the river dam of adjacent Sitio Kinudal, Barangay Kilada in Matalam, North Cotabato. "They were swimming at the downward section of the dam where they did not expect the strong exit of water pressure and its depth that probably caused the tragedy,” he said. The victims were rescued by residents nearby and responding members of the municipal disaster risk reduction management office who brought the students to the hospital. Kabacan Mayor Evangeline Guzman is set to convene members of the local school board to draw up regulations to prevent a similar incident from happening. Guzman said the local government has already extended assistance to the families of the two dead victims while the municipal social welfare office provided psychosocial interventions to other students affected in the incident.