4 dead, 12 hurt after rescue vehicle swept into spillway

Four people died while 12 others were injured after a rescue vehicle they were riding was swept into a spillway in La Libertad, Zamboanga del Norte.

According to Efren Mamac’s Tuesday report on “24 Oras,” an excavator was used to lift the rescue vehicle that fell into the Dapitan River in Barangay El Paraiso on Monday.

The fatalities are a 37-year-old barangay captain of Dumingag town, his 11-year-old son, and two female relatives.

Meanwhile, the 12 injured people were brought to the hospital and received medical treatment.

They were all members of a religious group.

According to the police investigation, the victims were returning from a fellowship activity in the town of Calamba in Misamis Occidental.

Witnesses said the driver was supposedly looking for a shortcut prior to the accident.

“Yung time na yun papauwi na sila. Nagtanong sila kung saan ang shortcut so may nagturo sa kanila papunta sa Mutia. Nakakapanlumo lang dahil naabutan sila ng baha. Baha yung nakaabot sa kanila sir,” resident Henz Aronda Manta said.

(They were going home when they asked for a shortcut, so someone told them to proceed to Mutia. It’s sad because they were caught in the flood.)

“Siguro, akala ng driver, kaya lang. Nag-gamble siya na dumaan and according sa report na natanggap natin habang dumadaan siya sa spillway, dahil sa lakas ng current, nahulog yung isang gulong niya sa spillway hanggang sa nahulog na nga ang buong sasakyan, naanod sila,” said Police Major Shellamie Chang, Police Regional Office 9 spokesperson.

(Maybe the driver thought he could pass through. He took a gamble, according to a report we received. The strong current swept the vehicle into the river.)

All of the fatalities and survivors have been brought to Duminga.

GMA Regional TV One Mindanao is reaching out to the driver, who is under police custody, for comment.

The Dumingag local government unit clarified that it allowed the victims to use the rescue vehicle.

“Si kapitan ang siyang lumapit at humingi ng pahintulot na gamitin yung rescue vehicle kasi dadalo ng two-days fellowship doon sa Calamba. Pinahintulutan yon. May request letter sila. Legal ang pagbiyahe nun,” said Francisco Batoon Jr, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief of operations.

(The captain asked for permission to use the rescue vehicle because they will attend a two-day fellowship in Calamba. They have a request letter and were allowed. The trip was legal.) —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News