CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines—Six people died while 12 others were hurt after the dump truck they were riding was hit by a trailer truck and fell into a ravine along the mountain highway in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, on Sunday, the police said.
Senior Insp. German Lising, Carranglan police chief, on Monday said the casualties were among 28 residents and village officials of Diadi town, Nueva Vizcaya who were on their way home from Pangasinan.
Lising said the fatalities–Laurence Gahal, a village chief in Diadi; Suzette Dulnuan; Rita Agualin; and Josephine Jallorina–died instantly when their truck fell into a ravine along the highway in Sitio Taktak, Barangay Puncan at about 3 p.m.
Two others, whom police have yet to identify, died in separate hospitals in Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija.
Police said the driver of the dump truck lost control of the vehicle when the trailer truck hit it. The trailer truck driver, Gilbert Alarcon, abandoned his vehicle a few meters from the accident site.
Sections of the mountain highway in that northern part of Nueva Ecija are considered accident prone, the police said. The highway extends from parts of San Jose City to Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya.