At least 17 dead as bus plunges off ‘killer curve’ in Philippines
- The vehicle carrying dozens of passengers plunged into a ravine after its brakes malfunctioned on a winding road
- The area is notoriously treacherous, and this is not the first bus to have gone over the edge, the local governor says
A bus in the Philippines carrying dozens of people lost its brakes and fell off a cliff in the central province of Antique, killing a least 17 people including the driver, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Seven people were in critical condition while four were stable and recovering, Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao told DZRH radio station.
The number of confirmed deaths was lower than the 28 reported earlier in local media.
The passenger bus from Iloilo province was on its way to the town of Culasi in Antique on Tuesday afternoon when its brakes malfunctioned on a winding road and it plunged down 30 metres (98.5 feet) into a ravine, Cadiao said.
“We call that area the killer curve. It was already the second bus that fell off there,” Cadiao added.
She visited the hospital where survivors were being treated for their injuries.
“It’s very, very sad,” Cadiao said in a video posted on the government’s Facebook page.
She earlier said there were four Kenyans on board the bus that was carrying mostly residents of Antique.
Local police later clarified there were only two. Another body was still being identified.
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At least 17 dead after bus plunges off ravine in the Philippines
“The driver was repeatedly sounding his horn because he had apparently lost control of the bus before it plummeted into the ravine,” Ronniel Pabustan, an Antique provincial crisis responder, said by telephone, citing accounts by some of the passengers.
Dozens of rescuers, including police, army troops and provincial emergency responders, worked to extricate the victims from the wreckage. They used stretchers and ropes to bring the victims up the ravine in an hours-long rescue and retrieval work that dragged late into the night, Pabustan said.
“It’s so tragic and painful because this happened close to Christmas,” Pabustan said, adding that among the dead was a baby, who remained unidentified.
Retrieval operations have stopped after all visible bodies on site were already pulled up, the provincial government of Antique said on Facebook.
The total number of passengers, first estimated to be 53, was yet to be verified, it added.
The Philippines is notorious for its lax regulation on public transport and poorly maintained roads.
The bus fell into the ravine in a portion of the highway that had no concrete barrier, Cadiao said.
“We have already called the attention of the Department of Public Works and Highways about it because the engineering design might be faulty,” she added.
Additional reporting by dpa, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
