TAGUM CITY – Five persons were killed and eight others were injured when a passenger van slammed into a trailer truck hauling bananas in Nabunturan town, Compostela Valley before noon Tuesday, police said Wednesday.

The fatalities included the driver of the van, according to Superintendent Joel Consulta, Nabunturan police chief.

Consulta said the accident happened at 11:45 a.m. along the national highway in Barangay New Sibonga.

He said investigation showed the van (license plate LWS-107) and driven by a Jun Pamoncales of Tagum City, was heading for Monkayo town when it collided with the trailer truck (MVU-785) driven by Michael Bacalso of Carmen, Davao del Norte.

Consulta said the truck came from Compostela town and was delivering Cavendish banana to Davao City when its container van was detached and fell on the road.

“The van driver tried to evade the detached container van by maneuvering the vehicle to the right road shoulder but it smashed onto the front portion of the truck,” Consulta told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

He said aside from the driver, three of the van's passengers died instantly.

He said another victim expired later at the hospital.

Tuesday’s accident came barely two weeks after a much deadlier road mishap happened on the same stretch of road.

On October 8, 11 people, including 10 members of a sect going to a religious gathering in Davao City, died when the multicab-type jeepney they were riding in rammed head-on against a truck loaded with fish and fresh vegetables.

In that tragedy, police blamed overspeeding and the drivers for falling asleep.