The body of a 16-year-old boy who went swimming and jumping off a waterfalls in Argao town, Cebu was retrieved on Monday, September 15, 2025.

It took about 48 hours to look for the body of the 16-year-old student who was swept away after he jumped off Bugasok Falls on September 13, 2025 in Barangay Conalum but failed to get back to the surface.

Rescuers found his body snagged in a branch of a fallen acacia tree.

He was found at past 11 a.m. at the boundary of three barangays in Argao.

The boy was identified to be a Grade 11 student of Argao National High School, and a resident of Barangay Tulic.

According to Joel Orbeta, call center supervisor of the Command Center of Argao Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), the student went swimming at Bugasok Falls with 10 other schoolmates.

He jumped off Bugasok Falls but after several minutes his friends began to worry that he was not able to get back to the surface.

Orbeta said that this is the first time someone died in the area.

“Daghan kuno ni sila, mga barkada ni Dong no? Mga barkada. Unya kini siya, di kuno ni kahibaw mulangoy, unya ang kadtong mga barkada niya naligo didto,” Orbeta said.

According to Leonard Amarillo, councilman of Barangay Usmad, where the body was retrieved, the students failed to ask permission from the barangay to swim in the area, deemed one of tourist attractions in Argao.

Amarillo said that plenty of young people skip coordination with the barangay when visiting the area.

Swimming in the area without permission from the authorities poses hazard, he added.

Due to a huge contusion on the boy’s face, responders believe he slammed into a rock after plunging from atop Bugasok Falls.