Philippines bus plunges into ravine killing 14
Canadian man and a Dutch woman among dead
PUBLISHED : Friday, 07 February, 2014, 6:44pm
UPDATED : Friday, 07 February, 2014, 6:47pm
Agence France-Presse in Manila
Police and rescuers retrieve bodies of passengers after a bus veered off a mountain road in the northern Philippines on Friday. Photo: AP
Two foreigners were among 14 people killed when a tourist bus fell into a deep ravine in the mountainous northern Philippines on Friday, authorities said.
The bus plunged about 120 metres while travelling on a narrow road heading to an area famous for its “hanging coffins”, said a report from the civil defence office.
A Canadian man and a Dutch woman were among the 14 passengers killed, it added.
Police said 32 other people on board were injured including another Dutch woman and the bus driver.
The deputy provincial police commander, Ramir Saculles, said disfigured corpses were strewn along the hillside, while some others fell into rice paddies at the bottom of the hill.
A local police spokesman, Davy Vicente Limmong, said the authorities suspect either the driver made a mistake or the bus suffered a mechanical failure, since no other vehicles were involved and the weather was clear.
The bus was heading to Bontoc, a jumping-off point for the rustic town of Sagada which is popular for its hanging coffins embedded on the sides of cliffs, as well as for its scenic atmosphere.
Poorly-maintained buses are the backbone of land transport in the Philippines but they have been involved in frequent accidents, leading to calls for tighter regulations.
A bus lies next to a tree after falling into a ravine in the village of Paggang, Bontoc town, Mountain province, northern Philippines. Photo: AFP
