PH Sailing Team trainee drowns

A COACH of the Philippine Sailing Team has been arrested after a 14-year-old recruit drowned while training in Manila Bay on Sunday. The Manila Police District said that Felipe Mosquera, 57, of the Philippine Sailing Association, would be held liable for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. Mosquera, who was taken into police custody on Sunday night, refused to be interviewed by reporters. Reached for comment, Philippine Sailing Federation president Ernesto Echauz said they were still waiting for the police report. “As of now, the Philippine Sailing Association has not received the incident report because of our ongoing race in the 2016 Regatta from Subic going to Boracay. Rest assured that the association will extend help to the victim’s family,” he told the INQUIRER. According to witnesses, Clarence Jhon Sanchez, who had joined the team just a day before, died during training. The statement of Sanchez’s 12-year-old teammate, a copy of which was obtained by the INQUIRER, said the latter drowned around 2:30 p.m. at a portion of Manila Bay covered by Block 1 of the Baseco compound. The witness clarified that he did not see what happened, adding that he just heard someone shout that somebody had drowned. He later saw his teammates rescuing Sanchez and pumping the water out of his chest to no avail. Sanchez’s father, Nalbert, told the police that he and his wife were not informed that their son had joined the team. “In his statement, Nalbert Sanchez averred that he did not have any knowledge of his son Clarence being a member of the Philippine Sailing Team or practicing with the team,” the police said. Based on medical reports, the boy died of asphyxia due to drowning. Aie Balagtas See and Jonathan Leonor