Two minors drowned in the river of Barangay Lantad in Silay City, Negros Occidental, at about 2 p.m. yesterday.

The fatalities were identified as Jay Allen Ybañez, 11, a grade six pupil, and Hanzen Franz Pasco, 13, a second year high school student, both of Barangay 4 in Silay, Police Officer 2 Hazel Torado, duty investigator of Silay Women and Children Protection Desk, said.

Ybañez and Pasco were brought to the Teresita Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay, but were declared dead on arrival, Torado said.

Their companions, Jeremy Poblacion, 11, Rosemarie Ybañez, 13, and Michael Joshua Leutero, 15, all of Barangay 4, survived the drowning incident, Torado said.

Investigation showed that Leutero, an out-of-school-youth, reportedly asked the two Ybañezes, Pasco, and Poblacion, to go to the river.

While the minors were playing at the river, the water suddenly rose and the current swept them away, Torado said.

The younger Ybañez and Pasco, who were at the deeper portion of the river, were the last ones to be rescued, the police said.

Their bodies are now at the Manapla Funeral Homes in Silay, Torado also said.*SGG

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