20 injured as truck collides with van

ORMOC CITY , Philippines  — Twenty people were injured Saturday afternoon when a truck, laden with sugarcane, collided with a passenger van along the highway at Brgy. Curva in this city.

Bertuldo Limpios, owner-driver of the truck, said he was driving from Merida town toward the city when the ball joint of the steering wheel malfunctioned causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

The truck veered into the opposite lane and collided with an oncoming van and dragged it a few meters to its rear.

Edgardo Gonzales, driver-owner of the van, was pinned at the vehicle's front and took a while for rescuers to take him out of it.

Twelve of the van's passengers, who were injured, were from Isabel, Leyte, three of whom were minors, while six others were from Palompon, Leyte, one of whom was a 7-year-old boy.

The injured Limpios was taken to the Ormoc District Hospital while Gonzales and some passengers were taken to the OSPA-Farmer's Medical Center in the city. Other victims were rushed to the city's Gatchalian Clinic and Hospital.