10 Koreans killed in road mishap

BOLINAO, Pangasinan – Ten Korean nationals died when their van rammed into the concrete wall of a warehouse along the national highway in Barangay Sampaloc here past noon yesterday, police said.

Senior Inspector Rizaldy Dalope, Bolinao police chief, told The STAR in a phone interview that only the driver was initially identified as Su K. Lee while the rest remained unidentified as their belongings were scattered in the scene of the accident.

A witness said the van was speeding amid the heavy downpour and was believed to have encountered mechanical trouble.

Four of the fatalities were females, one of them about six years old, while the rest were males aged 20 to 40.

The victims were rushed to the Sampaloc Community Hospital here but attending physicians declared six of them dead on arrival.

Rescuers tried to revive three others at the accident site but they eventually died, while another one died while being rushed to the Alaminos Doctors Hospital in Barangay Bolaney, Alaminos City.

Dalope said they have contacted the Korean Association in Baguio City to help police identify the fatalities, who reportedly came from the summer capital en route to Alaminos City where they were to be billeted at the Garden Paradise Resort.