SILANG, Cavite – A swimming jaunt by eight students to the Silang River in Barangay Toledo here turned tragic after a female student drowned while her seven classmates were rescued by a tricycle driver on Tuesday afternoon.
In a report by the Silang municipal police station, the eight students met around 2 p.m. on Tuesday and took a tricycle to the Silang River where they went swimming.
The group rented the tricycle, driven by Rolando Angcaya Gonzales, father of Mark Loiz Gonzales, one of the students.
Upon arriving at the river, police said the trike driver decided to wait for the students up until they wrapped up swimming at the river.
As the group started to leave the place around 3:30 p.m., one of the students identified as Carlyn Mae Tan, 14, became curious to measure the river’s depth and insisted to return to the site.
However, Tan did not surface, prompting peer Mariafe Factor, 13, to try to save her but was engulfed by the strong current.
Mark Loiz T. Gonzales, 12, also tried to rescue the two but was later swamped over by the river current.
The tricycle driver, witnessing the event , rushed to save the three kids but was only able to rescue Mariafe and Mark Loiz. He failed to recover Carlyn who was swept by the strong river current.
The other students –, Aizel Paglinawan Doringo, 12; Grethel Paglinawan Doringo, 12; Raiza Ambat Villapando, 11; Janine Rala Martinez, 12; and Clark John Bugtong Portades, 12 — called for help from the Silang Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) emergency responders.
The MDRRMO team was able to retrieve Carlyn Mae Tan from the river and rushed the victim to the Ospital ng Tagaytay where she was pronounced dead on arrival by attending physician, Dr. Angelo Daez.
The families and relatives of the students who were all Tagaytay City residents were immediately contacted while Carlyn’s body was subjected to autopsy. (Rogelio Limpin/PNA)
