MikeLigalig.com

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net, Agence France-Presse

At least 35 passengers were confirmed dead and six others seriously injured when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in Benguet province Wednesday morning, a police spokesman said.

Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the driver of the Eso Nice bus (AYB 549) suddenly lost control of the vehicle while negotiating the zigzagged highway in Barangay (village) Banangan, Sablan town at 9:20 a.m.

As a result, the bus, which was on its way to La Union from Baguio City, had 47 passengers on board when it plunged into a ravine 35 feet deep.

Cruz said police have retrieved the bodies of 35 passengers. Six other passengers were rescued but they sustained serious injuries. They were also reportedly unconscious.

The bus conductor, John Patrick Flores, said he survived by jumping out of the door before the vehicle plunged into the ravine.

"The driver tried to ram the bus into a mango tree to prevent it from falling, but failed," Flores said.
Police Senior Inspector Leo Guay, who led the search and retrieval operations, said the destroyed vehicle rested on its side on shrub-covered ground.

He said the steep slope made it difficult for rescuers to retrieve the mangled bodies from inside the wreckage.

"There were a few survivors, including the driver and the conductor. It happened very quick, the driver just lost control," Guay said.

Guay said police were in the process of informing relatives of the victims, but said no one from the company that owned the bus had so far come forward to help.

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