TACLOBAN CITY - Four senior citizens died after the tricycle they were riding fell into a canal in Brgy. Bagumbayan, Hilongos, Leyte on Wednesday morning, Nov. 9.
The fatalities were identified as Dario Canales, 62, Vicente Atipon, 60, the tricycle driver; and his parents Francisco, 83; and wife Petronila Atipon, 81, all residents of Brgy. Patag, an upland village of said town.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office responder Renato Aquino said in an interview that the incident happened while the tricycle was negotiating a downward portion of the road on their way to the town proper.
The three senior citizens were on their way to the municipal hall to claim their social pension.
Aquino disclosed that for some unknown reason, the driver lost control of the handle of the steering wheel as the tricycle went all the way to the canal.
The impact, according to Aquino, resulted in the instantaneous death of the driver Atipon.
The Hilongos Emergency Rescue Unit (HERU), accompanied by three ambulances, arrived in the area several minutes after the incident and brought the victims to Hilongos District Hospital.
However, Canales was declared dead on arrival.
The elderly Atipon couple, on the other hand, was brought to a hospital in Ormoc City due to severe injuries.
Francisco died on their way to the hospital somewhere in the town of Albuera, Leyte, while his wife Petronila died while being treated at a private hospital in Ormoc City past 5:00 in the afternoon.