23 hurt as bus falls into Benguet ravine

TUBA, Benguet, Philippines – Twenty-three passengers were injured after their bus fell into a ravine here yesterday morning.

Reports said the Victory Liner bus was heading for Baguio City when it figured in an accident at around 3:45 a.m.

Among those taken to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center for treatment were bus driver Levy Dipad, 53, of Cavite, and conductor Michael Rodriguez of Tarlac, said Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Azurin, Benguet police director.

Azurin said an infant and a Finnish tourist identified as Vesa Puosi, 25, was unhurt in the accident. 

Investigators said the bus (CXS-967) with 46 passengers was traveling along Marcos Highway in Sitio Umesbeg when Dipad lost control of the wheel.

Dipad told investigators he tried to avoid a truck, causing the bus to swerve and fall off the cliff.

Most of the injured passengers were sent home after getting treatment. 

Meanwhile, 10 buses of the Candon Bus Line have been suspended by the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) after one of its vehicles figured in an accident in Pangasinan that left a 12-year-old dead.

LTFRB board member Ariel Inton said the buses were ordered suspended for not more than 30 days.

The LTFRB ordered the bus company to surrender the plates of the buses by 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Inton said the agency would inspect the roadworthiness of all the buses and the drivers would be made to undergo a road safety seminar and drug tests.

Jean Fernandez died after she was run over by one of the buses of the Candon Bus Line last Jan. 22 in Binalonan town. – With Robertzon Ramirez, Raymund Catindig