A 16-year-old died in a Manila hospital last night after days of battling severe injuries sustained in an electrocution at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park last weekend.
Police identified the victim as Rene Boy de la Cruz, a resident of Binondo, who was rushed to the Philippine General Hospital. Authorities said that on Saturday, at around 5:30pm, de la Cruz had climbed over one of the park’s steel barriers and accidentally leaned on a steel lamppost that was said to have contained a live wire, shocking him and causing him to collapse, Diaryo Bomba reports.
The victim’s sister Ronalyn dela Peña, said that de la Cruz succumbed to brain injuries and a collapsed lung, Radyo Inquirer reports. De la Cruz’s family had asked Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to help investigate the incident. The local government said they were looking into it, but clarified that it was the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) who has jurisdiction over Luneta, according to TV Patrol.
Manila Police District Public Information Office Chief Lt. Col. Carlo Magno Manuel says they are investigating whether or not NPDC will be held liable for the incident.
Meanwhile, NPDC Chief of Staff Florizza Buclatin told reporters that they remain puzzled by the incident and are still waiting for a medical abstract from the hospital to confirm dela Cruz’s official cause of death. Authorities have cordoned off the area and the lamppost is being inspected by an electrician.
Buclatin maintains that the rest of Luneta Park, which receives a large number visitors, especially during Christmas, is still safe to visit.
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