8 dead in Tacurong highway mishap

TACURONG CITY, Philippines — Eight were killed here on Sunday in a head-on collision involving a 10-tonner truck and a small passenger vehicle shattered into pieces by the impact.

The eight fatalities, among them a policeman, PO2 Dennis Yalong, were passengers of the ill-fated multi-cab bound for Isulan town, the provincial capital.

Senior Superintendent Junnie Buenacosa, Tacurong City police chief, said they are still trying to picture how the accident happened based on accounts by witnesses and survivors, among them the driver of the hauler truck carrying some 10 tons of rice grains.

Three injured multi-cab passengers were rushed by Buenacosa and his men to a nearby hospital.

The passengers of the multi-cab, bearing license plates AAU-2464, which the hauler truck rammed at high speed were on their way home from a family gathering in a nearby barangay.

"There are different versions of the accident. We need to validate all of these. Just give our traffic investigators enough time to complete their probe on the accident," Buenacosa said.

One of the eight fatalities was an infant, according to Buenacosa.

He said the driver of the truck, who was slightly injured in the mishap, and his two helpers voluntarily yielded to responding barangay officials.

"They are now under police custody. We have contacted the owner of the truck too," Buenacosa said.

So strong was the impact of the collision that the multi-cab was torn apart into pieces that scattered on the center of the highway.

The truck fell on a roadside ditch after hitting the multi-cab, with its crew cowl badly damaged as well.