Bus accident: Quezon City vows aid for injured teachers

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government has expressed sadness over the bus accident in Orani, Bataan, which left a public school teacher dead and 46 others injured.

“The local government is ready to extend assistance to all those teachers involved,” city hall said in a statement on Saturday night.

On Friday, authorities said three buses left the San Francisco High School compound in Quezon City. The buses were carrying 141 passengers bound for Sinagtala resort in Orani town to attend a gender and development capacity-building activity.

The local government said all the participants were public elementary and secondary school teachers.

The buses were donated by the local government to the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Office of Quezon City in 2016.

According to a police report, one of the buses with license plate SAA-9845 carrying 48 passengers, including the driver, lost its brake while navigating a sharp curve along Orani Road at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The bus plunged into a 15-meter ravine, police said.

The accident occurred just 15 minutes after departure from the resort on its way back to Quezon City.

One of the participants, a teacher of Payatas B Elementary School, was declared dead on arrival at the Orani District Hospital.

Rescuers rushed the victims to the hospital where they were given first aid treatment and subjected to X-ray and CT scan.

Three of the victims were brought to the Balanga Provincial Hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Eighteen others were taken to the Bataan Disaster Risk Reduction and Management office for debriefing.

The bus driver is being held at the Orani police station for questioning.

Another DepEd bus arrived in Bataan yesterday to transport the teachers back to Quezon City for further treatment.

City hall said search and rescue personnel from the Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also arrived in Orani yesterday to check on the condition of the teachers.

“The Quezon City government and DepEd vowed to shoulder the medical expenses of the injured teachers, including financial assistance for the family of the deceased,” city hall said.