32 hurt as jeepney falls into a ravine in GenSan
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - At least 32 people were injured on Saturday morning after a passenger jeepney fell into a ravine in an outskirt village here.
Dr. Agripino Dacera Jr., head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), said the jeepney was traversing a road going downhill in Purok Balakayo, Barangay Olympog when the accident happened around 7:40 a.m.
Dacera said the loaded jeepney reportedly lost control while passing by a blind curve and overshot the road, falling about 40 feet down.
He said the victims, mostly high school students from Polomolok town in South Cotabato province, just came from overnight camping at the Sanchez Peak, the highest point in the city, and were on their way home.
He said 28 of the victims were high school students from the Polomolok National High School. It was not clear whether the camping trip was sanctioned by their schools but the students came without any teacher or faculty member accompanying them.
The four others were the jeepney driver Francis
Jade Solicito, 24, and his three companions, he said.
Rescuers from the CDRRMO and the Bureau of Fire Protection immediately responded to the scene and rushed the victims to the city government-run Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital.
“Most of the victims only sustained minor injuries,” Dacera told reporters.
He said traffic investigators are still determining whether the accident was caused by a problem with the vehicle.
But he said the status of the road, which was steep and mainly unpaved, requires that vehicles going to the site should always be in proper condition.
“The area is prone to accidents so we always remind people who are going to the site to be extra careful,” he said.
Sanchez Peak, which is a popular destination for mountaineers and outdoor adventure enthusiasts, is located at the boundary of barangays Olympog and Conel.
Rising about 800 feet above sea level, the site offers a spectacular view of the diverse natural attractions surrounding the city, among them Mt. Matutum, Mt. Parker, and Sarangani Bay.