KABAYAN, Benguet – Five people, including two children, were killed and more than 20 others injured when a six-wheeler truck carrying 39 passengers overturned along a mountain road in Sitio Guay, Barangay Poblacion on Thursday morning, May 27.
Authorities said the truck flipped at around 10 a.m. due to suspected mechanical failure.
Among the fatalities were a three-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy, a 49-year-old man, and two other adult male passengers whose identities were still being verified.
Ten passengers sustained serious injuries such as head traumas and bone fractures and were rushed to Dennis Molintas District Hospital in Bokod, Benguet.
Another 12 passengers, including the driver, suffered minor injuries and were treated at the Kabayan Rural Health Unit (RHU).
Twelve others escaped unharmed and were temporarily sheltered at the RHU and the Poblacion Barangay Hall.
Police said the truck came from Sitio Ambacbac in Barangay Lukib, Bauko, Mountain Province, when it experienced a mechanical trouble while navigating a descending curved portion of the Cong. Andres Acop Cosalan National Road. (Freddie Lazaro)
