‘Selfie’ leads to student’s death in Pasig

MANILA, Philippines - A 14-year-old student died when she fell from the stairs on the third floor of a school building while taking a “selfie” in Pasig City last Monday.

Christine Rosello died while being treated at the Rizal Medical Center.

According to autopsy results, Rosello suffered broken bones, sustained an injury to the back of her head and her broken ribs pierced one of her kidneys.

School security guard Jojo Morate reported that Rosello was taking photos with her cell phone at the third floor of the Rizal High School (RHS) IR building when the incident happened at around 10:21 a.m. on June 30, Pasig police chief Senior Superintendent Mario Rariza said yesterday.

The assistant principal, identified only as Ranes, rushed Rosello to the RMC where she expired an hour later due to massive injuries, Rariza said.

According to Rariza, Rosello has a history of dizziness.

The Pasig City police chief said they are still trying to determine whether Rosello had companions at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Armin Luistro created a fact-finding body to dig deeper into the death of Rosello, a third year student at RHS.

“Initial information mention the student fainted before she fell so we need to check even previous medical records,” Luistro said. “We are reviewing protocols also on how to deal with accidents in a school setting, as well as safety standards along corridors and stairs.”

However, the Rosello’s family claimed her death might not have been due to an accident. The victim’s mother is asking witnesses to come forward and shed light on what happened.

Rosello’s father, meanwhile, lamented the school’s alleged poor response to the incident.