12-year-old Boy Scout drowns at Cagayan jamboree site

CAGAYAN, Philippines – A 12-year-old Boy Scout drowned in a lagoon at a campsite in Cagayan province on Sunday afternoon, March 10.

In a report, Ballesteros town police chief Senior Inspector Gilbert Danga identified the fatality as Vince Lucina, a Grade 6 student of Solana Elementary School and a resident of Barangay Iraga in Solana town.

Lucina was among the 3,000 students from Cagayan who gathered in Barangay Zitanga, Ballesteros, for a provincial jamboree.

The initial investigation showed the boy returned to the lagoon after their water activity.

Police also said Lucina had asked for permission to “take a bath” from his father, who was also at the campsite as scout master. His father agreed, thinking his son was referring to a shower.

“The victim proceeded to the lagoon and he was [tempted] to swim [as he was] not aware that the lagoon was deep,” the police report states.

There were also reports that Lucina was with a classmate at the time, but the other student did not proceed when he noticed Lucina had yet to emerge from the lagoon after diving in.

Police said rescuers immediately retrieved the victim, but he was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital.

Photos of the scene showed the unfenced lagoon was located near the campers’ tents. – Rappler.com