A 35-year-old father died after saving his 12-year-old child from drowning in a stream with whirlpool in Asturias town, midwest Cebu.

Turquoise clear water makes the whirlpool inviting, so Ramil Bucay along with his three children went to the stream noontime on October 20, 2025 in Barangay Agtugop.

Due to the hot weather, Ramil went swimming in the whirlpool along with a child. However, his 12-year-old child was caught in the vigorous swirling motion of the whirlpool.

He came to his child's rescue, while his other two children who were around but did not take a dip, called for help.

Ramil failed to rise back to the surface. Later, his body was retrieved down the stream. Responders tried to revive him, but he was found dead.

His cousin identified as Aime Bucay said she has warned Ramil of the danger the whirlpool poses because of a previous incident involving another relative who almost drowned.

The Local Government Unit (LGU) of Asturias carried out intervention measures to prevent a similar incident, and called on residents to be extra cautious when crossing or swimming in the stream.

Residents pointed out that the stream is calm most days, but there are moments the whirlpool would bubble up, resembling the motion of boiling water, and that the spinning grows vigorous which terrifies them, so they request the LGU to have geosciences experts check the site.

The whirlpool has a depth of about seven feet, according to Christian Maambong Conejo of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.