12 dead, 531 injured in Holy Week incidents

By Ritchie A Horario/Manila Times

At least 12 people were reported dead while 531 were hurt in various incidents that occurred during the Holy Week, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

In its advisory yesterday, the NDRRMC said that of the 12 fatalities, seven were due to drowning, two were due to vehicular accidents, two were due to gunshot wounds, and one was due to fire.

Moreover, the NDRRMC said that 531 persons were reported injured while two were missing.

As of 6am yesterday, a total of 33 incidents were monitored by the agency which include fires (6), vehicular accidents (12), drowning incidents (8), armed conflict and shooting (2), snake bite incidents (2), procession-related injury (1), capsized motor banca (1) and flooding incident (1).

According to the NDRRMC, the latest casualties included three who died from drowning and one who was reported missing.

One of the latest fatalities was Roland Deo, 33 and a resident of Caloocan City, who drowned in Sitio Batog in Barangay Arnedo in Bolinao, Pangasinan at 1.30 pm on  Saturday. He was rushed to the Rillera Medical Hospital but eventually died.

The NDRRMC also reported that two cousins died at Taal Lake in Barangay Wawa in Tanauan City in Batangas province last Thursday.

According to reports, Junior Redondo drowned after tripping, while his cousin Richard Matanguihan tried to save him.

Both drifted to the deeper part of the lake and drowned. Their bodies were found after an hour’s search by relatives and people nearby.

Meanwhile, Apple Joy Carion, 13, was missing although she was believed to have drowned in Caguray River at 9 am on Saturday in Sitio Tuong in Magsaysay town in Occidental Mindoro.

The NDRRMC said that of the 12 fatalities, six were from Region 4-A (Calabarzon), three from Cagayan Valley and one each from Ilocos, Region 10 and Caraga.

Of the 531 injured, 493 were from Metro Manila, 24 from Region 4-A, seven from Cagayan Valley, six from Region 10 and one from Central Luzon.

It also monitored five fire-related incidents all throughout the Holy Week which occurred in Brgy.