27 pilgrims hurt as jeepney falls into Rizal ravine

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After joining the yearly penitential walk to Antipolo City on Maundy Thursday night, 27 pilgrims suffered minor injuries after the passenger jeepney they were riding fell 35 feet into a ravine in Angono, Rizal before dawn Friday.

Superintendent Lucilo Laguna Jr., Angono Police Chief, said the jeepney, which carried mostly teenagers, lost its brakes and plunged into a 60-feet ravine along Don Mariano Santos in Barangay (village) San Isidro around 3:30 a.m.

Laguna said the vehicle carried devotees, some from Baclaran, and had just come from a pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Cathedral, a popular pilgrim site in Antipolo City.

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Laguna said police are still hunting down the driver who escaped with the conductor after the accident. The police identified the driver and the conductor after they recovered “documents” in the vehicle.

“‘Yung bangin ay more or less 60 to 90 feet. Buti na lang sa kalagitnaan ng bangin, mga 35 feet, sumabit sila sa kahoy,” Laguna said.

(The cliff was more or less 60- to 90-feet deep. Good thing, they landed on some trees halfway down.)

All 27 passengers suffered minor injuries and were brought to the Angono General Hospital. As of posting time, 26 victims have been discharged while two remained in the hospital for further medical treatment.

He said members of Angono police, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams, and Angono local government took out the passengers from the jeepney. Although authorities have yet to recover the vehicle as they wait for the equipment to pull it out of the ravine.

Meanwhile, traffic in Rizal province has remained light to moderate as of Friday morning, except in areas close to churches, according to provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Loel Malonzo. There are about 18 churches in the province. IDL

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