FIFTEEN persons onboard three vehicles were rescued after a bridge collapsed in Hacienda La Plata, Purok Bagumbayan, Barangay Don Jorge L. Araneta, Bago City, Negros Occidental Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Jim Pieldad via Facebook)
BACOLOD CITY – A bridge in Barangay Balabag, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental was temporarily closed to people and motorists pending its repair after it collapsed while three vehicles were crossing last Sunday, Aug. 1.
The incident was first reported to be in Hacienda La Plata, Purok Bagumbayan, Barangay Don Jorge L. Araneta, Bago City, but upon the conversation of Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo and La Carlota City Mayor Dr. Rex Jalando-on, it was found out that it is not in the inventory of bridges under the City of Bago.
A girl suffered minor injuries while 15 persons were rescued from three vehicles crossing the bridge.
Police Lt. Joseph Jaro, deputy police chief of Bago City, said the three vehicles were on a convoy from Pontevedra, Negros Occidental to Barangay Don Jorge L. Araneta for a ministry event when the bridge collapsed while they were in the middle.
The convoy was composed of three vehicles, Jaro said – an Isuzu Crosswind with six persons onboard driven by Christopher Trupa; a Hyundai Accent sedan driven by Anthony Ciocon with no passengers; and an Isuzu pickup truck driven by Ruel Magallanes with six passengers.
Jaro said the bridge could no longer carry more than one vehicle because it was already dilapidated. He said there was no sign placed near the bridge warning motorists to refrain from passing beyond the allowed weight of a vehicle.
He said a girl, who was crossing the bridge, sustained minor injuries, as she was walking in the middle when it collapsed. She was taken and later discharged from the hospital.
Jaro said that nearby residents helped passengers get out of their vehicles. They were unharmed.