Sun.Star: River washes away girls in Cebu; 1 missing

A strong gush of water from a local river on Sunday afternoon swept away two girls right in front of their mother in Minglanilla town in Cebu. Sun.Star Cebu reported Tuesday that mother Cecilia Heruelas, 42, could only pray while she watched the river wash away her daughters in Guindarohan village. Cecilia said she stared helplessly as Miriam, 15, who was carrying three-year-old Farrah Mae, held on to a thorny branch as the current swept at her ankles. Volunteers scoured the riverbank throughout Guindarohan, and found Miriam seven kilometers downstream. Farrah Mae remains missing. Although they were not far from her, the rushing water made it impossible for her to reach them. She said she did not want to risk the life of her other daughter, two-year-old Regine. She narrated that she and her daughters and a neighbor's son had gone to their farm to gather corn Sunday afternoon. They were on their way home, when they decided to take the shorter route along the riverbank. Cecilia said it had been drizzling but the current did not seem alarming to them at the time. Then the gush of water came streaming from the mountain, forcing them to scramble in different directions. Cecilia said Christian was able to run along with her but Miriam, who was carrying Farrah Mae, had climbed on top of a boulder. "The water wasn't that deep at first but it rose steadily," Cecilia recalled. Cecilia said Miriam kept crying when stones carried by the water hit her, but she told her to hold on and to look at the sky instead. She said they all were shivering because it was raining, but no one could help them because there was no one around. Miriam suddenly lost her hold on the branch and the river carried her and Farrah Mae downstream. It was not until 3 p.m. that residents found Cecilia with Regine and her neighbor's son. On the other hand, there was some confusion about Farrah Mae's whereabouts Monday afternoon as the police blotter showed that Farrah Mae, Regine and Cecilia were safe. The couple was surprised about the news, and the local police apologized later in the day for the confusion. - GMANews.TV