4 drown after vehicle fell into Zamboanga del Norte river

COTABATO CITY — Four individuals, including a minor, drowned after floodwaters swept away the light van-type truck they were riding in while the driver was crossing an overflow spillway bridge in La Libertad, Zamboanga del Norte, on Monday, June 23.

Local officials separately told reporters on Tuesday, June 24, that the bodies of Nicanor Alforo Jr., barangay chairman of Senote in Dumingag town, Zamboanga del Sur; Michele Alforo; a Grade 6 pupil and Roxan Calibugan were found one after another by rescuers along downstream stretches of the wide river in Barangay El Paraiso, La Libertad.

Officials from the La Libertad Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said the victims and their 12 companions were on their way home to Dumingag from a Christian religious event in Calamba, Misamis Occidental, when their vehicle was swept away while crossing the Dapitan River via an overflow spillway concrete bridge in Barangay El Paraiso.

Witnesses told reporters that strong floodwaters upstream of the Dapitan River caused the vehicle carrying the Alforos, Calibugan, and their 12 companions to veer off one side of the bridge, roll over twice, and land on a rocky stretch of the river.

Rescuers from the La Libertad local government and Bureau of Fire Protection personnel quickly saved the 12 companions of the four victims and immediately transported the fatalities to the municipal mortuary.