7 killed as bus rams truck along zigzag road in Benguet

MANILA, Philippines–Seven students were killed when their tourist bus lost its brakes and crashed into a truck along a zigzag road in Benguet Thursday evening, police said Friday.

Of the fatalities, four were girls and three boys, said authorities in a separate interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM. Police are still trying to determine their identities.

The same report said three people were on board the truck.

A resident of Tuba town in Benguet passes by the scene of the accident Friday that shows the wreckage of the container truck and the bus ridden by students and teachers. Seven people were killed in the mishap that occurred Thursday night. PHOTO BY EV ESPIRITU/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

It said that the tourism students and teachers from Marinduque State College went on a field trip in Baguio City.

Chief Superintendent Benjamin Magalong, Cordillera regional director, told INQUIRER.net that the Manila-bound bus (AFB 769) with 38 passengers, 31 of them tourism students and teachers, hit a container truck and another bus along Marcos Hihway in Tuba, Benguet, around 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

Magalong said six people died on the spot, while the other was declared dead on arrival at the Baguio General Hospital.

The injured passengers were also taken to BGH, he said.
For more details, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM audio clip.