15 killed in Tanay bus crash

MANILA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) – Fifteen people, mostly college students, were killed after the bus they were riding crashed into an electric post in Tanay, Rizal, early Monday, February 20.

The bus, carrying students from Bestlink College of the Philippines in Novaliches, Quezon City, was traveling along Sitio Bayucan in Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay, when it lost its brakes and crashed into an electric post at around 9 am. The bus was taking over 50 teenage students and an instructor on the trip.

The impact of the crash caused the post to topple onto the bus, according to Berlin Flores, research and planning officer of the Tanay Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

The bus driver also died in the hospital, officials said. At least 40 others were injured in the incident.

Bong Rati, the civil defense officer at Tanay, added, “There were some victims who are seriously injured that need to be transferred to a bigger hospital.”

Flores said authorities are now monitoring the status of the injured passengers, who were brought to the 2nd Infantry Division Army Station Hospital, Tanay General Hospital, and Rizal Provincial Hospital.

Flores said the Panda Coach bus carrying the victims was the last of 9 buses traveling as part of a convoy on the way to the students’ camping trip in Tanay.

Some students said they smelled burning before the crash but the cause of the accident is still undetermined, police said. – with reports from Agence France-Presse / Rappler.com