BACOLOD, Philippines – Fifteen people died, two were injured when the truck they were riding fell off a cliff in Barangay Bulwang, Mabinay town, Negros Oriental shortly before 2 pm, Wednesday, February 21.
Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office’s (NORPPO) spokesman, Lieutenant Stephen Polinar, identified the fatalities as the following:
While those who survived but sustained head injuries and are now being treated at Mabinay Health Center (MHC) are truck driver Antonio Toreno and Jovanni Flores.
All of the fatalities and those injured are residents of La Libertad town also in Negros Oriental, Polinar said.
The NORPPO spokesman said the victims were supposed to go to Barangay Dawis, Bayawan City also in the province to buy livestock.
However, said Polinar, upon reaching Brgy Bulwang, Toreno told the police probers that the truck’s brake malfunctioned and he lost control.
The ill-fated vehicle was a Mitsubishi Fuso cargo truck registered under the name of Rolindo Decipolo, 63, also of La Libertad town, Polinar disclosed.
Past 4 pm Wednesday, Polinar said, the bodies of the victims were recovered from the accident scene, which is 40-50 meters in deep, and were brought to a local funeral parlor in Mabinay.
Added Polinar, NORPPO director, Colonel Ronan Claraval, already ordered Mabinay Police Office chief, Major Nelson Lomoco, to exhaust all possible means to get into the bottom of the accident.
Police will also file charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Toreno, Polinar said. – Rappler.com
