BACOLOD City – A miner allegedly died of suffocation in Sitio Arum, Barangay Talacagay in Negros Occidental’s Hinoba-an town on Tuesday.
Authorities identified the fatality as 42-year-old Ignacio Ortega, a resident of Toboso town in the said province.
Hinoba-an police chief Major Jaynick Bermudez said Ortega and his second cousin entered the tunnel they excavated.
The excavation was believed to be around 20 meters deep.
Ortega’s second cousin, who first exited, later returned inside the tunnel, where he found Ortega unresponsive.
The victim’s relative immediately pulled him out and rushed Ortega to the hospital. He was declared dead upon arrival by the attending physician.
Bermudez believes that Ortega may have run out of oxygen while working inside the tunnel and subsequently suffocated.
Ortega’s remains will undergo an autopsy to confirm his cause of death, as an initial examination by the authorities revealed no visible injuries. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
