20 fall while crossing hanging bridge

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — At least 20 persons fall into the river below when the hanging bridge they were crossing at Mambusao town in Iloilo snapped apart.

Senior Inspector Rachelle Garnica, Mambusao Police chief, said the incident happened at past 9 a.m. Sunday at Barangay Pangpang Norte, where the victims were on their way to attend a burial at the town's Catholic Church.

Police Officer 2 Ivan Camacho said the pallbearers carrying the coffin had just passed through the bridge when it collapsed. The bridge might not have handled the weight of the persons passing all at once, he said.

The victims landed on the murky waters of Panay River. "No one was seriously injured but nine persons, two of whom were minors, were brought to the Mambusao District Hospital for treatment," he added. (FREEMAN)