A 13-year-old boy died after he reportedly lost control of his bicycle at a damaged section of a road and fell into a ravine in La Trinidad, Benguet.

The incident caused the relief of two public works officials.

Police said the incident happened near the Lamut Junction in Barangay Beckel while the teenager was biking with friends. The boy allegedly lost control of the vehicle and fell through a damaged portion of the road before plunging about 30 meters into a ravine.

The victim was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Authorities said only caution tape was been placed around the damaged road at the time of the incident. The road was believed to have collapsed during the onslaught of #UwanPH.

Cycling groups expressed sympathy to the victim’s family.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon later issued a memorandum ordering the relief of the Benguet First District engineer and the maintenance section chief engineer over the lack of proper road safety signage and traffic control devices, including concrete barriers, in the area.

Dizon stressed that such a tragedy should not happen again because of negligence by public officials.

The victim’s family, police, and the relieved DPWH-Benguet officials have yet to issue statements.