ANTIQUE – A tragic vehicular accident shook this province and the entire Western Visayas on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 5.
A 30-meter-deep plunge killed at least 25 bus passengers, including the driver, conductor and inspector. The bus overshot the road dubbed by locals as the “killer curve” in Barangay Igbucagay, Hamtic town around 4:30 p.m.
According to Gov. Rhodora Cadiao, based on initial report from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Ceres bus carried more or less 50 passengers.
Over 10 passengers were in critical condition at the hospital as of this writing.
“Duro ang critical pero ang initial report sa akin from the PNP nga napatay is 25. Doon pa sila sa site at nakahandusay,” Cadiao said during a Panay News interview on Tuesday night.
The governor, who was at the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) in San Jose de Buenavista town to attend to the needs of the victims and responders, saw firsthand the severity of the situation, especially for those coming into the emergency room.
The hospital’s emergency room, according to Cadiao, instantly reached its full capacity.
“Ang ginadala rugya sa ospital mga critical, iban gina-intubate, iban gina-bleeding very hard, iba utod ang kahig. Hindi mo akalain na ganito ang mangyayari, Christmas pa naman,” she lamented.
To cater all victims, emergency tents outside the hospital were set up. All off-duty nurses and doctors at ASMGH were also called in.
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in Antique was also requested to be open 24/7 to cater to blood supplies needed.
“I’d like to assure the relatives na affected nga indi sila magkabalaka kay tanan nga bulong sa hospital will be free for them. Ang naisip ko kadya kon ano ang mahimu naton nga funeral services sa nagtaliwan,” Cadiao said.
She added: “Those nga naapektohan, the provincial government will be at hand to help. Right now, we are at the hospital to take care all the needs of the patients. Sa mga Antiqueños, please don’t worry, everything is here, all the ambulances of the nearby towns have volunteered to bring their ambulance to the site para makapadala sang mga pasyente. We are taking care of everything here.”
What Actually Transpired?
The bus was on its way back to Antique from Iloilo City.
Upon reaching the “Welcome to Antique” marker, the bus took a stop, and both the driver and conductor checked its engines, a survivor identified as teacher Mica Marie Servano of Lindero Elementary School in Tobias Fornier town, recounted to Cadiao.
But it was only after it took off again that its brakes malfunctioned.
“May na-interview kami nga teacher nga passenger nga nagpundo kuno sa ‘Welcome to Antique,’ nanaog ang conductor tapos ginsilaw nanda, daw okay man kuno. Tapos ginpa-andar sang driver kay mauli dun mo, tapos pag-andar wara run kapugong, wara run ti brake,” said Cadiao.
The incident, unfortunately, unfolded on the curvy and steep road, with a ravine on the left side when going in the Antique direction.
The area being accident-prone was labeled “killer curve.”
Cadiao had already raised the road’s concern with the Regional Development Council (RDC) during her term as chairperson. In response, the road was widened and cement barriers were placed.
“Ang area na ‘yan tawag namin dyan killer curve eh. Gin-report na natin sa RDC ang area nga ran. And DPWH expanded that road, ginpabahul dia kag ginbutangan kang cement barrier, pero wara kasarang ang cement barrier. Pag-igu sang bus, ah, naglumpat gid tana sa part nga to. Siguro mga 30 meters down below,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Vallacar Transit, Inc., (VTI) the operator of the Ceres bus involved, said it will investigate the incident.
In an Aksyon Radyo Iloilo report, Jade Marquez, media relations officer of VTI, said their managers and nurses were already deployed in the area to assist.
“Kun ang kapalpakan ara sa amon, indi na namon pagtaguon,” Marquez said.
The company will issue an official statement once it gathers sufficient data, she added.
In 2019, a bus also plunged into a ravine in the same barangay, Igbucagay. Three passengers died and seven others were injured. A year before that, three similar incidents occurred in the same spot, killing around 30 people./PN
