Trisikad driver drowns in river flashflood

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  – Rescuers on Thursday morning recovered the already decomposing body of a driver of a “potpot” (bicycle with sidecar) from a downstream portion of a river in the center of Bais City, Negros Oriental.

Police identified the body as that of Vimard Tamborete Babor, 34, single and resident of Brgy. Calasgaan in Bais City, who was reported to have drowned after he was carried by flashfloods late Tuesday afternoon.

Babor was deemed missing that day after he reportedly crossed the upstream portion of the Tamogong River in the sub-village of Tambakan in the Bais City proper when the water suddenly rose without warning.

Bais City Police chief, Chief Insp. Reynaldo Lichido, said witnesses accounts stated that the water was still at a normal level when Babor started to cross the river but a sudden flashfloods, most likely caused by heavy rains from the elevated areas, quickly swept Babor downstream.

Lichido led a police team, along with Bantay Dagat and other volunteers, to conduct a search-and-rescue operation for Babor but bad weather slowed them down, he said.

The search for Babor continued on Wednesday until Thursday when his body was found at around 7 a.m. at the river bank in the city’s barangay Poblacion (center) 2, said Lichido.

A low pressure area hovering from Mindanao and headed towards the Visayas early this week spawned heavy rains in many parts of Negros Oriental, including Valencia town and the capital city of Dumaguete.

On Tuesday, the Buayahan spillway in Valencia, notorious for its history of taking lives during flashfloods, was temporarily rendered impassable after the Okoy River overflowed.

Employees of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and residents in the vicinity were diverted to a longer route via San Antonio in the adjacent town of Sibulan.

The Banica River in Dumaguete also rose to a certain water level higher than normal although no flooding was reported.  (FREEMAN)