DIGOS CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines—A passenger bus from Davao City fell off a deep ravine as it was approaching Malita town around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the police said.

Superintendent Victorina Mendez, Malita police chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that two cadavers had already been retrieved from trees but rescuers were having a hard time reaching the wreckage of the ACF bus at the bottom of the cliff.

She said the difficulty in reaching the wreckage was the main reason they could not determine the exact number of dead or injured passengers.

"We are trying our best to rescue injured passengers or retrieved the dead ones. Our problem is that the ravine is quite deep and slippery," Mendez said.

Mendez said the bus, which was carrying about 30 passengers, was approaching the village of Poblacion, its destination, when it fell off the ravine.

She said it was not immediately determined what caused the driver to lose control of the bus even as she said heavy rains the town had been experiencing since late afternoon could have played a role in the accident.