5 dead in collision of two buses in CamSur; brake failure eyed by police

A head-on collision between two passenger buses in Libmanan town in Camarines Sur early Sunday morning left five people dead and 45 others injured, town police said.

 

Police Officer 2 Emmy Rose Organis, desk officer of the Libmanan police, said the drivers of the Elavil bus and Antonina bus died on the spot, as did the conductor on the Elavil bus. "There are also 45 other passengers now in the hospital," she said.

 

According to the initial investigation of the crash, the driver of the Manila-bound Antonina bus lost control of his vehicle at around 12:30 a.m., strayed onto the opposite lane and hit the Elavil bus, which was headed for Naga City. "It could be a mechanical problem, the bus probably also lost its brakes," Organis said.



Local residents, motorists and rescue teams in the area immediately brought the injured to nearby hospitals.

 

The crash comes after a bus lost its brakes and fell into a ravine in the Mountain Province. Probers found the bus, operated by GV Florida Transport Inc, did not have a proper permit to operate.

 

According to police data, road accidents kill an average of 1,200 people across the Philippines each year. Most of the accidents have been attributed to speeding, improper overtaking, and mechanical defects. — JDS/HS, GMA News