Manila bus plunges off motorway, killing 17 and injuring another 16
Witnesses say vehicle was going fast in wet conditions when it fell nearly 10 metres onto a van
A bus plunged off a rain-soaked elevated highway in suburban Manila and fell on to a van passing below yesterday, killing at least 17 people and injuring 16 others, officials said.
TV footage showed bodies strewn around the bus wreckage with police officers nearby. The van was an unrecognisable pile of smashed white metal.
The bus veered off the Skyway, as the elevated road is called, and crashed on to the van nearly 10 metres below in suburban Paranaque city at dawn, police Superintendent Elizabeth Velasquez said.
It wasn't clear what caused the accident but the highway was wet from rain, said Ivy Vidal, a spokeswoman from Skyway Operations and Maintenance.
Irene Sisperes, a motorist who witnessed the accident, said she was driving with her daughter at 80 km/h when the bus overtook her car. She estimated the bus was travelling at between 100 km/h and 110 km/h.
She said it was still dark and it was raining when the accident happened. "After a few metres, I saw the bus fall," she told DZMM radio, adding there were no other cars nearby.