Fruit juice kills 4 Vizcaya students

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – Four third-year students of a public high school in the northwestern interior town of Villaverde died the other day after drinking contaminated homemade fruit juice, authorities said.

The victims were identified as Joani Molina, 20; Rommel Dacusin, 18; and Severino Quiyod and Jefferson Retorio, both 16, all students of the Bintawan National High School.

The four belonged to poor farming families in the villages of Ibung, Nagbitin and Cabuluan in Villaverde town. – Charlie Lagasca