CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Eleven persons were confirmed dead while 21 others were injured when a bomb exploded inside a passenger bus bound for this city as it was passing by Musuan in Maramag, Bukidnon around 5:30 p.m., the military reported.
1Lt. Normal Tagros, spokesperson of the 8th Infantry Battalion based in Bukidnon, said the injured passengers had been brought to nearby hospitals.
Maj. Christian Uy, spokesman of the military’s 4th Infantry Division, confirmed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the number of those killed has reached 11 and they have counted 21 injured, five more than the 16 last reported.
Uy said the Rural Transit bus with plate number KBP 178 came from Wao in Lanao del Sur and was heading towards this city when the explosion took place as it was cruising the Musuan portion of the national highway in Barangay (village) Dologon, particularly in front of the Central Mindanao University.
Uy said the local police were investigating the explosion.
Mark Anthony Anibong, a student who was riding on another bus, said the Rural Transit bus stopped at the gates of the CMU to get some passengers.
A few minutes later, when the bus was in front of the Philippine Dairy Center building, it exploded, Anibong said in a radio interview.
Anibong was supposed to ride the ill-fated bus, but decided not to do so as it was already full. He took the bus that arrived moments later.
Most of the victims are high school students who flagged down the bus at the gates of the CMU.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried but failed to contact the Maramag police office but no one was picking up the phone there.
Nobody has owned up to the bus explosion yet, the second attack on the this bus firm in Bukidnon since November
On November 6, three passengers were injured when a bomb exploded inside a Rural Transit bus as it was passing by Bukidnon.
Originally posted: 7:38 PM | Tuesday, December 9th, 2014
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