4 electrocuted in deep artesian well in Zamboanga Sibugay

COTABATO CITY — Four individuals died from electrocution in a tragic accident in Barangay Tiayon, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, around dusk on Friday, April 11.

Local executives and personnel of the Ipil Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) identified the fatalities as Norben Cañete Sr., his son, Norben Cañete Jr., Jayson Gandawan and Renjear Velez, all residents of Ipil, the capital town of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Officials from the Bureau of Fire Protection in Ipil and personnel from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) told reporters on Monday, April 14, that Cañete had gone down the partially drained deep artesian well to retrieve a set of tools. The well had been drained using an electric submersible pump, which reportedly malfunctioned, causing a power surge that led to his electrocution.

Gandawan went down into the 28-foot well to assist Cañete, but was also electrocuted. Cañete's son, Norben Jr., and Renjear Velez tried to pull them out, but tragically, they too were electrocuted and died in the process.

Witnesses said Norben Jr. and Velez only stopped twitching at the bottom of the well after Annie Joy Sambalod, the live-in partner of the older Cañete, unplugged the power cord connecting the submersible pump to an electrical outlet in a nearby house.

BFP personnel from the provincial office and fire stations in Ipil and nearby towns responded to the incident and retrieved the victims’ bodies about two hours later.