Boy, 4, drowns after falling into Cebu City river while chasing bottle floating in the water

CCTV footage shows the moment when a 4-year-old boy was playing and accidentally fell in a river in Sitio Tender, Barangay Day-as, Cebu City which lead to him drowning on Saturday, October 7,2023. | Screenshot from contributed CCTV video

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A four-year-old boy, who was chasing a bottle floating in the river, died after he slipped from the riverbank and fell into the river on Saturday afternoon, October 7, 2023.

The boy was then playing then with his 3-year-old cousin at the riverbank in Sitio Tender, Barangay Day-as, Cebu City.

READ: Body of drowning victim found near Port of Albuquerque in Bohol

CCTV footage shows boy falling into river

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage uploaded on social media showed the moment the boy slipped and fell in a river bordering Barangay Day-as and Barangay T. Padilla in Cebu City.

According to an interview with local TV Station Balitang Bisdak, Police Master Sergeant Nemesio Dinopol of the Parian Police Station, that it took time for the father to look for his child because he believed that he was only playing inside his favorite internet cafe in the area.

READ: Argao drowning: Body of 10-year-old boy found along riverbank

Victim’s 3-year-old cousin points at river

The father said that the boy and his three-year-old cousin, after eating, left the house at 4:30 p.m. that day.

However, when he did not return home and he could not find him at the internet cafe, he then looked for him at the riverbank.

On his first check on the river, he could not find anything so he went back.

READ: 9-year-old girl drowns in Talisay City creek

Boy found by father under water in the river

And at past 6 p.m., the father then asked the 3-year-old cousin of the child where his 4-year-old cousin was.

The 3-year-old child pointed to the river.

So he went back and thoroughly searched the area near the riverbank and an hour later, his leg hit the hand of the boy in the river.

The father then attempted to resuscitate the motionless child, but the boy had no reaction at all.

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Rushed to hospital, dead on arrival

The victim’s mother, who was in Barangay Tisa at the time of the incident to work as a laundry woman, said that she received a call about her son being found from the river and immediately rushed home.

The mother arrived dreading that about what happened to his youngest son.

Instead of seeing joy in her children as she came home bringing bread, she could not believe seeing her son motionless

She called out his name, for him to wake up, and then they rushed him to the Cebu City Medical Center.

However, the attending physician declared the boy dead on arrival.

READ: Preventable drowning incidents

How police knew of drowning incident

Police Master Sergeant Dinopol said that they only knew about the drowning of the boy after police came upon the CCTV footage that went viral online.

Dinopol said that after watching the video, police personnel headed to the area to validate the incident and interview the parents of the victim.

The child’s body is now at a chapel in Barangay T. Padilla in Cebu City, where his wake is being held.

The victim’s father said that he, at first, suspected that the child was pushed into the river, prompting him to go to the barangay hall to check on the footage from a CCTV camera placed behind the chapel near the area of the accident.

There he saw how his son slipped and fell into the river while he was chasing a bottle floating on the river.

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Police to check if someone was monitoring CCTV

Dinopol said that they would be investigating on whether someone was monitoring the CCTV in the area at the time which could have prevented the child’s death. 

Dinopol also advised parents, especially those living near rivers, to always watch their young children in order to avoid untoward incidents such as this from happening.

The captain of Barangay Day-as, Freddie Esmas, for his part, said that as the CCTV camera was placed in the area to monitor those who throw garbage there and for flooding, they did not expect an accident like this would happen.

He said that this accident would serve as a lesson to them to assign someone to monitor the CCTV in the area.

Esmas said that they would be reaching out to the victim’s family to offer them any help that they would need.