A four-year-old boy and a teenager reportedly drowned in rivers in Rodriguez, Rizal on Sunday, Aug. 17.
According to the authorities, the Tactical Operations Center of Casimiro Ynares Hospital received a call regarding a drowning incident involving the four-year-old boy identified as Jude Ethan Solina.
Based on the initial investigation, Solina, together with his two other playmates, went to Wawa River in Sitio Inigan, Barangay San Rafael to swim that day.
Witnesses said they were surprised to see Solina's friends return home without him, prompting them to immediately go to the river and search for the boy. Rescuers were able to recover Solina's body after an hour.
He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Later that day, the Tactical Operations Center of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) received another report on a drowning incident involving a teenage boy along the Marikina River Spillway in Barangay San Isidro.
People who saw the incident said that the victim was swimming along the waterway at around 7 p.m. when he was suddenly swept away by the river's strong current.
The MDRRMO quickly launched a search, rescue, and retrieval operation. They later recovered the victim's body.