(UPDATED) Fourteen people were reported dead on the spot after a truck, used for transporting domestic animals, plummeted into a ravine estimated to be from 50 meters to 100 meters. 

Another passenger was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. 

The truck had 17 people on board.

The incident happened at around 2 p.m. in Barangay Bulwang, Mabinay town, Province of Negros Oriental on February 21, 2024. 

According to the Mabinay Police, the driver lost control of the vehicle when brakes failed. People on board the truck were reportedly thrown off. Others were pinned. 

"Loss of brake talaga.. nasira... hindi na ma-kuan yung brake," said PMaj. Nelson Lamoco, acting chief of the Mabinay Municipal Police Station in a media briefing evening on February 21.

Lamoco said two people wounded remained in the hospital, including the driver.

All people on board the truck are from the town of La Libertad.

Lamoco said the truck may have been traveling fast. "Sa palagay ko, medyo mabilis-bilis kasi descending yung area... malusong yung area."

Jun Caraell, a responder from the Mabinay Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said earlier that the truck reportedly encountered a mechanical problem but pursued its trip. The truck was bound for Dauis in Bayawan City from La Libertad. 

Caraell said that the incident happened on a sharp bend of the road. 

He added that the driver was headed for a "tabo," a marketplace where producers have control over prices of goods or mechandises, to purchase domestic animals. 

Lamoco said that based on conversations with residents, several vehicles have figured in accidents in the area but this is the first time this many people died.

"Ang dami nang naaksidente pero ito yung naitala na pinakamarami... sa lahat ng aksidente, ito yung naitala na marami ang namatay," he said.

Brake failure is reportedly the common cause of the accidents.

"Kadalasan loss of brake talaga," he said.

Lamoco said the bags of the victims were opened in the presence of family members so that items recovered from the scene of the accident could be documented properly. 

"In the presence sa family... i-documented talaga namin para walang masabi sila," he said.

He said the police will lobby with the mayor for the installation of early warning devices in the area.

"Yung nakita ko talaga, talagang maglagay tayo ng early warning devices... mahalaga yun... para malagyan natin ng early warning device para makita ng mga tao," he said.