A 12-year-old boy in Jolo, Sulu died after he went down a deep well to try to take a dead cat out.

The 125-foot well has been the source of water for residents of a compound in Barangay Alat. It was cordoned off after the incident. 

The body of the boy identified as Bensar Ismael, a Grade 7 student, surfaced on February 17, 2024 or almost three days after he went down the well. 

A team composed of compressor divers, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Special Forces Divers, and members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Special Rescue Unit retrieved his remains.  

Rescuers had difficulty retrieving the boy's body right away because of risks involved, including suffocation. In fact, a 37-year-old man identified as Alhadi Absari who reportedly went after the boy died in the well. 

“Yung nangyari kasi doon sa pag-rescue, pagdating namin, sinubukan kong bumababa. Pagbaba ko parang may mga gas na malalanghap doon. Sa tingin ko, na-suffocate muna bago sila nahulog mismo sa may tubig kasi hindi ka naman didiretso doon sa tubig may parang sasabit ka muna doon bago ka mahulog sa tubig,” SF02 Mohaimin Jamaluddin of the BFP-Sulu Provincial Operation Branch said.

“Yung diver hindi na makapenetrate kasi masyado nang maliit. Kasi kung tatansahin namin parang bata lang ang pwedeng makalusot sa pinakadulo ng butas. Si Gov nag (seek ng tulong) sa iba na may drone daw, yun yung ipapapasok sa loob. alanganin na talaga at risky na talaga sa aming rescuer,” Jamaluddin added.

Rescuers had to suspend operations until the boy's body was sighted on February 17. 

“The team then planned strategies on how to go about the search and retrieval, and decided that since compressor divers required no oxygen tanks that may hamper their maneuverability will dive the deep waters with the assistance of the AFP Special Forces Divers, BFP-SRU, and standby medical team from PDRRMO,” the Sulu PDRRMO said.

The boy was reportedly fond of rescuing animals, the BFP said, quoting the child's family.