4 pupils drown, 1 missing in central Philippines

Four elementary school pupils drowned while another went missing in the central Philippine province of Iloilo at the early onslaught of tropical depression Banyan (local name: Ramon) on Wednesday, police said. According to an Iloilo police report, the pupils were crossing the Lipata River in Barotac Viejo town when strong surges occurred, sweeping them away. Four bodies have been recovered while another pupil was still missing, police said. In Kalibo town, Aklan province, major streets were knee-deep flooded Wednesday due to Banyan. The Department of Education has announced the cancellation of classes in local public schools. Aside from Kalibo, other towns in Aklan such as Makato have also reported flooding due to heavy downpour of rains. Banyan weakened to a tropical depression after it made landfall over the central Philippine province of Leyte early Wednesday, after dumping moderate to heavy rains over the northeastern part of the southern Philippine region of Mindanao overnight, bursting rivers and flooding several communities in Surigao and Misamis provinces, the state weather bureau and local authorities said.