Deadly Saturday on Cotabato roads: 6 dead, 4 hurt

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Six persons were killed and four others were injured in separate road crashes in the towns of Matalam, Makilala and Libungan in Cotabato province on Saturday (July 13).

At Barangay Kilada, Matalam town, five persons were killed after the tricycle they were riding collided head on with a wayward Toyota Innova past 11 a.m, said Maj. Bryan Placer, Matalam town police chief.

Placer said tricycle driver Ahmed Mamadra and his wife Pai died on the spot while three unidentified passengers died at the hospital.

In a report to the provincial police, Placer said the Toyoto Innova driven by Andong Baraguir swerved to an opposite lane after one of its front tires blew out, causing the Innova to crash into the tricycle.

Silverio Diagro, a Matalam tricycle driver who witnessed the collision, told a local radio station that passengers were thrown out of the tricycle by the impact.

In Libungan town, a motorcycle driver was killed and a person who rode on the back was crticically injured when a Nissan Terra hit them past noon also on Saturday.

The Nissan Terra tried to avoid the motorcycle but still hit it before slamming into a roadside mango tree.

In Makilala, a tricycle driver was injured when he was hit by a Toyota van at Barangay Saguing at 1 p.m., also on Saturday.

The province has been experiencing a day-long light to moderate rain due to a low pressure area over Mindanao. /TSB