“It’s a tragic disaster, 28 are believed dead,” Antique Gov. Rhodora J. Cadiao said Tuesday evening, December 5.
She told DIGICAST NEGROS a Ceres bus appeared to have lost its brakes and fell off a “killer curve” into a steep ravine in Brgy. Igbucagay, Hamtic in Antique at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Initial reports she received were that 25 died on the spot and three died at a hospital, Cadiao said.
Many of the survivors are in critical condition, she added.
Bacolod-based Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), owner of the Ceres buses, late Tuesday night said “there are 12 confirmed casualties at the moment, nine of whom are passengers, and the remaining three being the bus driver, conductor, and line inspector”.
Cadiao said they borrowed tower lights with a generator from Iloilo province so they could continue the retrieval and rescue operations Tuesday night.
Some of the dead were pinned down under the bus making it difficult to extract their bodies, she said.
The bus was travelling from Iloilo to Antique when it fell into an about 30-meter deep ravine, Senior Master Sgt. Oliver Villanueva, Hamtic police chief investigator, said.
Villanueva said he could not confirm the number of dead. Three were confirmed dead at a hospital and the recovery of the bodies at the site was still ongoing, he said.
The 25 dead on the spot is not confirmed yet, more or less 15 bodies have been retrieved so far and the search for the others was ongoing, he said at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“KILLER CURVE”
Cadiao assured that all the hospital expenses of the victims will be taken care of by the provincial government and she will release an initial P20,000 financial assistance to the families of those who died.
Cadiao said the area where the bus fell is a “killer curve” as numerous deadly accidents have occurred in the same spot.
Many vehicles have fallen there, which she has reported to the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Regional Development Council, Cadiao said.
The DPWH widened the road and put a cement barrier but it has not prevented the accidents from happening, Cadiao said.
“I would like to believe that that road has a design fault, the DPWH should study very hard why vehicles are prone to accidents in that area alone,” she said.
VTI APOLOGIZES
VTI, in statement issued late Tuesday, expressed its apologies and condolences to the bereaved families.
Ceres bus number 6289 was involved in the accident that led to the death and injuries of the passengers, as well as the driver, conductor, and inspector, it said.
The bus, which was carrying 24 passengers, was on its way to Culasi from Iloilo when it accidentally fell off a ravine resulting to serious injuries and casualties among the occupants of the bus, VTI said.
VTI’s personnel and nurses were immediately dispatched to the location of the incident to assist the victims.
VTI reported the incident to the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board immediately, and is willing to cooperate with any investigations they will be conducting, it said.
“In coordination with the LTFRB Region 6, the management has decided to voluntarily suspend all operations of the 12 remaining units under the franchise involving Case No. 11-VI-021-AK pending investigation, wherein the bus involved in the incident had been a part of,” it said.
VTI will be providing financial assistance to the passengers and their families, as well as shouldering the medical and burial expenses, it said.
The management has assigned personnel to be on stand-by at the hospital for further updates and assistance, it added.
“Rest assured that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that this is being handled properly and carefully”, VTI said.
“The management guarantees the riding public that we are taking all the appropriate steps to ensure that our buses are road-worthy and well-maintained”, it added.