Two men drowned in Cauayan and Candoni in the 6th District of Negros Occidental, on Monday, Sept. 15.
A 48-year-old laborer from Brgy. Poblacion, Cauayan, drowned after falling from an improvised bamboo raft at around 12:30 p.m., the police said.
The victim, who did not know how to swim, fell into a river and was swept away by strong currents.
His family and neighbors searched but failed to find him until rescuers later recovered his body beneath the Cauayan Bridge.
He was rushed to at hospital but was declared dead.
In Candoni a 35-year-old man from Brgy. East slipped while crossing a spillway in Sitio Panacmalan with his brother at around 7:50 a.m., the police said.
Strong currents carried him away as attempts to save him failed.
His body was discovered later that morning along the riverbank by the municipal rescue team and brought to the rural health unit for post-mortem examination.
Authorities classified both cases as accidents, citing strong river currents as the cause.*