A 16-year-old graduating high school student drowned while swimming at the Baruyen Dam in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, police said.
The victim went to the dam with three Grade 10 classmates for a picnic and a swim.
He attempted to swim across the dam, but midway through, his friends noticed he was struggling to breathe and drowning.
Rescuers from the police and the Bureau of Fire Protection recovered his body 20 minutes later. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
This incident follows a similar tragedy earlier on the same week in Pangasinan, where a five-year-old boy drowned at Binday Dam in San Fabian.
The child was set to graduate from daycare on April 22.
