Boy, 17, drowns

CEBU, Philippines - A 17-year-old boy drowned yesterday morning at Pier 7 after a cord fastened to a sack full of scrap iron he was trying to retrieve from the sea bed snared his leg that kept him underwater.

SPO1 Kerwin Bejer of the Investigative and Detection Management Bureau (IDMB) of the Mandaue City Police Office identified the victim as Rolando Villegas, 17, of Sitio Aroma, barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Bejer said Villegas, Ledmar Listujas, 17, and a 13-year-old boy agreed to go swimming and at the same time give them the opportunity to retrieve the sack which they had left on the seabed a few days ago.

Bejer said the boys had gotten the pieces of iron from a ship that was on dry dock.

Just as they arrived at the pier area, Villegas immediately dove into the water to recover the sack.

The 13-year-old advised Villegas to take it easy because the sack was heavy.

But as Villegas started to pull the sack from the sea bed, the cord somehow went around his right leg and the weight of the sack prevented him from going for air.

Listujas meanwhile was getting worried because Villegas had not surfaced up till now.

He went after his friend only to find him already lifeless.

He went up and sought help.

Members of the Philippine Coast Guard freed Villegas from the rope and took him to the shoreline. A mouth-to-mouth resuscitation did not help to revive Villegas however. —