2 die from lightning, drowning in Zamboanga del Sur

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – A man was killed by a lightning strike while another was believed to have drowned in a river in Zamboanga del Sur province amid a bad weather for several days now.

According to a report of the Zamboanga del Sur Police Provincial Office, a 22-year-old man identified only as Joel, died after being struck by lightning in Barangay Locuban of Dumalinao town.

Joel was feeding his cow near their home when the tragedy happened. He suddenly collapsed and was revived by his parents, to no avail.

He was then rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

In Lapuyan town, a man identified as Renie was reportedly attempting to cross the river during heavy rains even as he was already intoxicated with alcohol.

Police investigators said Renie, per account of his brother-in-law, left them last Tuesday to buy coconut wine. After failing to return for two days, his family reported Renie as missing.

READ: Two cops die as lightning strikes Oriental Mindoro police HQ

On Thursday, his body was found along the downstream of Lapuyan river, two kilometers from their village, by disaster responders deployed by authorities.

Zamboanga del Sur experienced heavy rains since Saturday due to the itertropical convergence zone that caused flooding in Tigbao, Lakewood and Kumalarang towns. /jpv