5 die in road accident in Samal, Davao del Norte

Photo taken from google maps

MANILA, Philippines – Five people died after a passenger bus crashed into the side of a mountain and turned upside down in Samal, Davao del Norte Tuesday, a radio report said.

The accident occurred at around 11:20 a.m. at Sitio 16, Poblacion Kaputian, Island Garden City of Samal, Police Superintendent Roland Aguho was quoted as saying in the interview.

The five fatalities, identified as Romeo Eusebiano, the driver of the bus, Mary Hazel Munyon, Milagros Kahanap, Alfredo Baja, and Marjune Sinoc, were declared dead on arrival at the Samal Emergency Hospital.

The ill-fated vehicle, an Island City Express bus with plate number LWU 812, was carrying about 30 passengers when its  brakes malfunctioned as it was descending the Kaputian district, the report said.

It then crashed into the left side of the mountain and flipped over, the report said.

The number of injured persons rushed to the hospital were still undetermined and retrieval operations were still ongoing, Aguho said.