Buri tree kills boy, 10

CEBU, Philippines - A 40-foot buri tree fell on a 10-year-old boy killing him on the spot in barangay Cubacog, Mandaue City during the onset of Typhoon Sendong last Friday afternoon.

Neighbors rushed Antonio Cortes Jr. to the Mandaue City Hospital. He did not reach the hospital alive.

Police said the boy was cleaning a mess inside their house while his four siblings were in the other room together with a six-month-old baby girl sleeping in a cradle.

The father was at work in a plastic factory in Lilo-an town, their mother was at a clinic with 5-year-old daughter who was having a check up.

It was raining heavily with strong winds blowing at that time around 5:45 p.m. when suddenly a cracking sound was heard by neighbors.

Suddenly the buri tree in the neighborhood fell on the house and pinned the boy down.

The 6-month-old baby was thrown from its cradle but was unharmed, the other children were rescued by the neighbors while the boy was pulled from underneath the debris and the fallen tree.

The Accident Control Emergency Rescue Team (ACERT) and the police immediately responded and cut the tree in pieces.

Just this year, the Mandaue City council approved a resolution allowing the city to cut trees if these endanger the public.

The resolution, authored by Councilor Demetrio Cortes Jr., states that in order to promote the public health, safety, and the general welfare of the city, trees in the city need not only be preserved, as these enhance the natural scenic beauty, and prevents soil erosion, there is also the need to remove them if these put the public in danger.

Cortes’ resolution came after two trees had fallen, causing damage to property and claiming lives in Mandaue and Cebu City

Last June, a 15-meter long buri tree in barangay Labogon,Mandaue City fell on the house of couple Romeo and Teresa Dimpas, claiming three lives while destroying houses.

A similar incident also took place in barangay Zapatera in Cebu City where jeepney driver Clenio Bontuyan was crushed to death when an old acacia tree fell on his vehicle. (FREEMAN)