A roving patrol of Zamboanga City Water District this morning chanced upon a group of unidentified intruders inside a strictly protected zone of the city’s watershed resulting in the injury to one of the intruders after a brief skirmish near the Tolosa-Imelda area.

The incident was reported to have occurred at about 9:00 this morning after the security detail manage to get word to basecamp after close to an hour due to difficulty in radio transmission.

The chance encounter followed a week of intensive patrols as human tracks were noticed inside the watershed indicating intrusions made by unidentified persons in the strictly no entry zone.

Initial reports indicated a group of persons were chanced upon moving about in the restricted zone prompting the security detail to give chase.

One among the group reportedly attacked the security detail wielding a bolo prompting guards to shoot him on the foot.

The others managed to slip away with guards reportedly in hot pursuit.

No reason was given as to why the intruders were moving about in the highly restricted zone.

Barangay officials of Tolosa were immediately requested to assist in managing the situation in the area.

The intrusions were the first to be reported in a long while prompting officials to order intensified patrols to discourage entry into the protected watershed area claimed by a top official of the watershed management group.

No other details were available as communication is difficult in the area of encounter.

The protected watershed zone is strictly off limits to everyone, top water district officials reiterated.

More details to follow as soon as information is received from the team on the ground. (Ed Banos CREAS ZCWD).