3 boys electrocuted

SILANG, Cavite – Three boys were electrocuted when exploding fireworks snapped an overhead power line, sending a high-voltage cable into a crowd, police said yesterday.

The three died on Sunday evening and five other bystanders were hospitalized by the high-voltage jolt during a feast at a Roman Catholic church in Silang, south of Manila.

Those injured were identified as Ruby Mallari, Niño de Leon, Carla Pamulaklakin and Marivic Bisita, all of this town.

Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales, the director of the Cavite provincial police office, told reporters he ordered the arrests of three men who had been hired by the local Rotary Club to stage the fireworks display. – Rene Alviar