2 teachers dead, 42 students wounded in Cotabato mishap

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Two teachers died while 42 of their students were injured in a vehicular accident in Alamada town here on Saturday.

Melanie Iglesia and Tohane Macalipat, teachers from Kabacan National High School, and thier students were returning from an outing at the Asik-asik waterfalls in Alamada when their truck plunged into a 20-foot ravine.

Superintendent Aldrin Gonzalez, spokesman for the Regional Police Office 12, said yesterday that the driver may have lost control when the truck’s brakes malfunctioned.

“But we are also not discounting other possibilities. Let’s give the Alamada municipal police enough time to determine the cause of the accident,” Gonzalez said.