Metro Manila, Philippines – One of four people reported missing following the Agana Bridge collapse in Tarlac City has been found dead, Tarlac City Mayor Susan Yap said on Monday night, Aug. 31.
The Tarlac local government identified the victim as James Patrick Taborlupa, who was among the passengers inside the vehicle involved in the August 29 bridge incident.
Taborlupa’s body was recovered in Barangay Carael, Dagupan City, Pangasinan—several kilometers downstream from the incident site.
“Batid namin na walang salitang sapat upang maibsan ang sakit ng inyong pagkawala. Kasama po kami sa inyong pagdadalamhati,” Yap said in a statement.
(Translation: “We know that no words are enough to ease the pain of your loss. We share in your grief.”)
Meanwhile, search, rescue, and retrieval operations remain underway for the three other passengers who were aboard the vehicle when the bridge structure gave way.
Local disaster risk reduction and management councils across Tarlac and neighboring Pangasinan have coordinated riverine search efforts along the Agno River basin.
