2 hurt as Bicol-bound truck falls into 35-foot ravine in Quezon

LUCENA CITY—Two persons were hurt when a Bicol-bound cargo truck fell into a 10.66-meter (35 feet) ravine in Tagkawayan town in Quezon province early morning Saturday, police said.

Senior Insp. Reynaldo Reyes, Tagkawayan police chief, said the 10-wheel truck being driven by Edwin Aguilar was negotiating a curved, descending section of the Quirino Highway in Barangay (village) San Vicente when it slammed into a set of concrete barriers and fell into the ravine at 4 a.m.

After receiving an alert from a resident who called the local police station, policemen and a rescue team went to the accident site and took the victims to the Ma. Lourdes District Hospital in the town proper, about 6 kilometers away.

Aguilar and his helper Jazam Abion had scratches and bruises which doctors described as minor injuries, Reyes said.

“We suspected that the driver fell asleep. He was not aware that he is running fast and descending a curve,” Reyes said by telephone.

The cargo truck was on its way to Naga City and was loaded with assorted grocery items.

The stretch of Quirino Highway in Tagkawayan is an accident prone area, police said.

Last Dec. 21, a passenger bus from Albay bound for Metro Manila also fell into a ravine in San Vicente. Some 55 passengers were hurt. RAM

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