Two brothers and a cousin were killed while three other relatives were admitted at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital Thursday after they went swimming in the Maloh river in Siaton town.
Indang Delmo, an aunt of the victims identified the three dead over a radio dyGB report as Sandy Tabilon, 8, his brother Ranmil, 6 and cousin Juntin Tabilon Bahandi, 3.
Three other cousins who were admitted for symptoms of poisoning were Rhachelle, Randy and Ramil, all surnamed Tabilon.
Delmo said the victims were all bathing in the Maloh river in around 4 pm when they fell ill.
She said she believes that someone poisoned the water upstream. “Some neighbors reported seeing dead fish in the river.”
Efforts to get statements from the other victims were unsuccessful as they were still weak while their parents were still in a state of shock as of the time of the interview.
