By Jennifer P. Rendon
Four persons were momentarily buried as soil eroded on a road construction project in Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan afternoon of April 17, 2021.
Unfortunately, one of them did not survive the incident.
The fatality was identified as Modesto Apellido, 44, a native of Bingawan, Iloilo.
Those who were survived were identified as Niño Jay Castillo, 22; Jade Daryl Castillo, 22; and Darius Castillo, 48, all residents of Barangay Caticlan, Malay.
Lieutenant Colonel Don Dicksie de Dios, acting chief of Malay Police Station, said a portion of the hill may have collapsed because of heavy rainfall in the area in the past days.
“Tinitingnan din namin if the movement of the heavy equipment like backhoe sa taas na portion has something to do with the incident,” he said.
The workers were constructing a retaining wall on the side of the by-pass road project when the incident happened.
“Bumigay ‘yung pundasyon, gumuho ang lupa, at natabunan sila,” he said. “‘Yung tatlo na naka-survive nasa gilid. ‘Yung namatay ay sa gitna ng guho kaya siya ang napuruhan.”
The area where the incident happened is near the local government’s operation center. Members of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) immediately responded to the area and so did personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection.
They were brought to Malay Municipal Hospital but Apellido did not pull through.
The three other workers are now in stable condition.
