By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

At least two people recently died, while three others remain hospitalized, after eating crabs believed to be poisonous in Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental. Authorities have requested not to identify the victims but confirmed the fatalities were siblings.
Hinoba-an Municipal Police Station chief, Police Major Clifford Batadjay, said the victims reportedly ate a species of crab known locally as ‘Kukudlong’ or ‘Kumong-Kumong.’ However, based on initial findings, the crabs were believed to be a species of zosimus aeneus, a crab that carries various toxins.
In a statement given by the surviving victims, they gathered the crabs during a foraging activity last Monday evening. The family then cooked the crabs on Tuesday morning and served it to the children before the parents. A few hours after consuming them, the three children began experiencing stomach aches and vomiting.
One later passed away, while another sibling was transported to a hospital in Bacolod City where they died.
Authorities have already coordinated with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to determine if the crabs were indeed poisonous./DGB, WDJ