20 Iranians, one Pinoy dead: Bodies set to be brought to Iran

CEBU, Philippines - Iranian Embassy officials said that the bodies of their 20 citizens, who perished in a tourist bus crash last Sunday in barangay Cansomoroy, Balamban, will be brought back to their country within the week.

The bodies are now at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Nivel Hills together with the lone Filipino fatality, driver Jaime Batoon, who also owned the bus.

No autopsy has been conducted and the bodies have not been embalmed to respect the Muslim tradition about the handling of the dead.

Edgar Sanchez, funeral director of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes, explained that they only injected formaldehyde to preserve the bodies and have put them in the freezer.

The Iranian embassy officials arrived in Cebu several hours after the accident late morning last Sunday.

Consul Mohammad Tavana first proceeded to the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital to look after the needs of the injured.

Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr., president of Cebu Doctors Hospital, said the Iranian embassy officials assured him that they will be the ones to shoulder the expenses of the victims.

Larrazabal also offered discounts for their bills.

Suspension

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional director Benjamin Go yesterday said he will suspend for 30 days, effective today, the franchise of all vehicles of JD Rent-a-Car, the owner of the bus that plunged into the ravine.

Go said that since it was a holiday yesterday, he just instructed his legal personnel to prepare the suspension order of the franchise of some 30 other vehicles owned by JD Rent-a-Car so it can be signed this morning and it can be implemented right away by the Land Transportation Office.

LTO Chief Alberto Suansing was in Cebu yesterday and personally inspected the crash site, which is about 11 kilometers away from Balamban town proper.

Central Visayas LTO-7 regional director Raul Aguilos said once he will receive the order of the LTFRB he will quickly implement it by sending his men to the garage of JD Rent-a-Car to confiscate the vehicles’ license plates.

“Kinahanglan nga ang mga sakyanan ipa-inspection nila didto sa LTO Motor Vehicle Inspection Service (MVIS) sa Subangdaku, Mandaue aron sutaon ang iyang road worthiness, unya ipa-drug test usab ang ilang mga drayber,” said Aguilos.

Go said he will also ask the Department of Tourism to revoke the accreditation it issued to the rent-a-car company and will also request the LTO that the drivers of rent-a-car will be subjected to drug test.

Brake Malfunction

Police investigators said that the reason for the accident last Sunday was the malfunction of the brakes.

PO2 Manuel Gilamon Jr. of the Balamban police, the case investigator, said that based on the accounts of two witnesses, their statements point to what apparently was failure of the brakes and not driver error.

The JD tourist bus with plate number GWZ-666 was cruising downhill on its way to Balamban town when it skidded off the Transcentral Highway and fell into a 30-meter-deep ravine.

The police investigator added that two witnesses — Elmer Navaja and Macias Pacquiao, who were also the first two to go down the ravine and help the victims, saw the bus speeding downhill and they noticed that the driver did not apply the brakes.

Due to its speed, the witnesses said, the driver failed to maneuver the bus through a sharp curve resulting to the tragedy.

“According to the witnesses, nakabati sila og nagtingog na brakes, nagpiti-piti then mura’g bahong sunog. Paglingi nila, nakit-an na lang nila ang bus ga-dahunog ug mideretso na og ka-hog sa pampang,” Gilamon said.

The body of the driver was the last one to be retrieved from the crash site as he was pinned inside the bus.

Fatalities

The Cebu Provincial Police Office identified the fatalities.

They were Shah Mary Sharan, 31; Ataa Bargchi, 5 and his father DV and his mother, whose first name is not yet available; Fohjan Zakari, who was a student of the Gullas College of Medicine; and Dr. Ali Kamrani from the Cebu Doctors University.

Pedram Farjam and Hamed Reza Hozoori, students of the Gullas College of Medicine; Dr. Morteza Ghasem, pathology resident of CDU; Alfa Barghchi, 16; Pasha Masoomabadi and Pasha Johani, both minors; Mohammad Bejoobyen, 23 and a student of CDU; and Farshed, who is reportedly a radiologist of CDU.

Those who were identified yesterday were Jahani Moeed, 1 year and 6 months olf; Vatane Mortaze, David Khatibi, 23; Shafagh Homayooni, 20; and Batoon.

One of the fatalities, a woman, is yet to be identified as well as another victim, who died in the hospital.

Ill-Fated Bus

Councilor Dave Karamihan of Balamban town told reporters that he got information from the Iranian community in Cebu that there were 63 passengers of the bus.

Aside from the 21 dead, there were also 23 reported injured with two of them only suffering minor cuts and bruises.

The town official said that they are still trying to account for all the passengers of the bus and have sent out some teams to scour the nearby areas.

It was also reported in a television newscast that Tsuneishi Heavy Industries, which is a ship-building firm based in Balamban, has offered to assist in pulling out the bus. —with Jen-jen Raymundo, Veronica Basas, PIT Interns and Jessica Ann R. Pareja/NLQ   (FREEMAN NEWS)