• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
A backhoe operator was killed after the amphibious dredger he was operating toppled over while conducting a river clearing operation on Friday at Barangay 1, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, leaving the victim to be trapped underwater for nearly three hours.
The victim has been identified by authorities as 50-year-old Harvey Nepomuceno, a resident of Sitio Pahilanga, Barangay Miranda in Hinigaran.
Initial investigation by the Hinigaran Municipal Police Station revealed that Nepomuceno was maneuvering the dredger onto the river’s surface when it unexpectedly toppled, trapping him inside with limited access to air. Efforts to rescue him were hampered by the muddy conditions of the riverbed.
Rescue teams from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), along with volunteer residents, immediately responded to the scene. Despite their efforts, the rescue was unsuccessful.
A video circulating on social media posted by concerned citizens, shows the dredger stuck in a muddy section of the river just before it capsized.
Nepomuceno was extracted after about three hours, at approximately 10:44 a.m. and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The river clearing operation was initiated by the municipal government following Typhoon Tino, where debris in the river posed a risk of flooding.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the accident.*
