APEC escorts injured in road accident

Three lady traffic personnel of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) deployed to escort delegates of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) on Boracay were flown to a Metro Manila hospital Sunday after they were injured in a vehicular accident on the island.

The accident happened a day before the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting and Related Meetings and Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, here. Said meeting started Sunday, May 10 and will continue on until May 23 on Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan province.

MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez said three of the seven traffic personnel on-board a pickup truck which figured in the accident were flown to Manila then brought to East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City for treatment of injuries.

"One needs an operation on her shoulder, another needs a leg cast and the other, lip stitching," said Jimenez.

She said the personnel were on their way to Shangri-La Resort Boracay at around 5 p.m. Saturday to conduct a simulation of their duties when the driver lost control of the vehicle due to brake failure, and crashed.

"They were rushed to a nearby hospital but they had to be flown to Manila due to lack of facilities in Boracay," said Jimenez.

Those injured were part of the 18-man elite team tasked to provide motorcycle escort security to APEC delegates.

The team is composed of traffic constables, rescue and disaster response personnel, medical first responders and crowd control units, with heavy equipment in tow.

Boracay is among nine Philippine sites chosen to host the 2015 APEC meetings leading up to the Summit meeting in Manila in November. Other APEC meeting sites include Manila, Clark in Pampanga, Iloilo, Legaspi in Albay, Bagak in Bataan, Bacolod and Tagaytay.