Northern Samar mayor, 2 others hurt in chopper accident

CATARMAN, Northern Samar—The  mayor of the town of San Roque in Northern Samar fractured his skull but his two companions suffered only minor injuries when they jumped off a helicopter that developed engine trouble while taking off from the beach house of a congressman in the municipality of Laoang, 50 kilometers east of here, on Tuesday.

A close friend of San Roque Mayor Andre Abalon, Dr. Warren Atadoy, said the mayor was transported to Cebu City after an x-ray examination at the Catarman Doctors Hospital showed his skull was fractured.

“As of now he is relatively stable, but we cannot be sure of his condition in the next hours. We need to transport him to a hospital with better facilities,” Otadoy said.

Abalon’s companions, Decoroso Asinas and former Board Member Epifanio Pinca, were slightly injured and were also taken to the Catarman Doctors Hospital for treatment.

The three men, who were campaigning for seats on the provincial board representing the province’s second congressional district, suffered their injuries when they jumped from the helicopter when they sensed something was wrong, said Don Abalon, the mayor’s brother. The pilot, Capt. Dino Garcia, managed to bring the chopper back to the ground and was not injured.

Abalon, Asinas and Pinca were going to Lapinig town, Northern Samar for a campaign rally in the helicopter owned by Northern Samar 2nd  district Rep. Emil Ong.

According to an initial report from the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas, the chopper was taking off from the beach behind Ong’s resthouse in Barangay (village) Rawis in Laoang around 9:30 Tuesday when the aircraft’s engine failed.

Abalon is finishing his third term as mayor of San Roque and,  together with Asinas and Pinca, is running for provincial board member under the National Unity Party.