6 dead, 4 injured in separate highway mishaps in NoCot

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Six persons died while four others were injured in separate vehicular crashes that transpired in the towns of Matalam, Makilala, and Libungan, all in North Cotabato, on a rainy and slippery Saturday (July 13).

One of the accidents involved a Toyota Innova and a tricycle loaded with passengers that collided along the Davao-Cotabato highway in Barangay Kilada, Matalam, North Cotabato, according to Maj. Bryan Placer, Matalam town police chief.

Those who died in the vehicular crash at past 11 a.m. were tricycle driver Ahmed Mamadra, his wife Pai, and three other passengers whose names were not immediately made available.

Injured in the same incident were Nasser Laker, 21 and a 10-year-old boy, both of Matalam, North Cotabato.

In his report to the provincial police office, Placer said the Toyota Innova driven by Andong Baraguir swerved after one of its front tires blew off.

“As it swerved amid a downpour, the Toyota Innova hit the opposing tricycle headon, killing two persons on the spot,” the police official said,

adding that the three other tricycle passengers died later in the hospital.

Jonel Esparagoza, a Matalam tricycle driver who witnessed the collision, said in a radio interview that he saw tricycle passengers thrown off and landed on the concrete pavement.

In Makilala town, a tricycle driver was injured when he was hit by a Toyota D4D passenger van in Barangay Saguing at 1 p.m.

In Libungan town, a motorcycle driver died while his passenger was critically injured after their motorbike was hit by a speeding Nissan Terra sports utility vehicle (SUV) at past 12 noon in Barangay Katitipan.

The Nissan SUV tried to avoid the motorbike but still hit it and slammed a roadside acacia tree.

The names of the victims in the incident are yet to be released by authorities.

The province had experienced day-long drizzles, and light to moderate rains due to a low-pressure area affecting Mindanao.

Police authorities have reminded drivers and commuters to slow down as the roads are slippery during rainy days.