TACURONG, Sultan Kudarat - One person was killed and two others were critically injured when an Elf truck carrying participants of the Bangsamoro Assembly collided with a passenger bus along the national highway in Barangay Maibo in the town of Tantangan, South Cotabato Sunday afternoon.
The accident happened at around 4:50 p.m. when the Elf truck with plate number RFM-187 carrying 11 passengers collided with a Yellow Bus with more or less 20 passengers. The collision bent the front row of the Elf, killing its driver and severely injuring the legs of two passengers.
Residents, together with other participants of the assembly who passed by the area, helped rescue the passengers trapped in the front row. The legs of the passengers were squeezed by the bent frame of the truck. Without any power tools, people used their bare hands in freeing the trapped passengers.
The passengers of the Elf truck were on their way home to Barangay Sapu Masla, Malapatan town in Sarangani Province after attending the Bangsamoro Assembly in Maguindanao. Nearby residents and passengers from other trucks who also attended the assembly immediately tried their best to free the two trapped passengers.
Bu-ar Malagos, who was riding in the next truck and was also from the same place as the accident victims, said that the back of the truck had several passengers including two children who suffered bruises and slight wounds.
“We were in a convoy on our way back to Tantangan, after attending the assembly. The passengers had been rushed to the hospitals. There were three women at the back with two children and several more men who all suffered injuries,” said Malagos.
According to the residents who saw the incident, the truck tried to overtake a passenger van but was not able to make it, causing it to collide head-on with the bus.
“The truck actually hit the end of the van, and then the truck skidded since the road was slippery due to the rain, but we have still not finalized our investigation. We are still trying to get the statements of the bus and truck passengers but most of them had been rushed to the hospital. We estimate that there were more than 20 passengers in the bus with most of them having slight injuries,” SPO1 Fedirico Pulido of the Tantangan Municipal Police.
Police are now looking for the bus driver, who fled the area right after the accident.
source: interaksyon.com
