COTABATO CITY – Eight people were killed and 13 others were injured after a mini-dump truck fell off a cliff in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, on Wednesday afternoon.
Police Lt. Jasper Garcia, deputy police chief of Lebak municipal police station, identified the eight fatalities as Moner Abdulla, Todz Mamintal, Marinaya Nailan, Babylyn Sahipa, Alling Sahipa, Mohammad Digan, Mohammad Macarimbang, and Mando Sali. All were pronounced dead on arrival at the South Upi municipal hospital.
Garcia said the accident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. while the victims were heading to Cotabato City from Barangay Poloy-Poloy, Lebak, where they had attended a Muslim pre-wedding gathering.
The victims, who are related by blood and affinity, are all residents of Barangay Senditan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
“They were on board a blue mini-dump truck (license plate MAT 1126) when the driver, Alvin Adam, 38, lost control of the steering wheel and fell off a 20-foot cliff,” Garcia said in a report Thursday.
Quoting witnesses, Garcia said the driver was trying to avoid roadblocks along Barangay Christianuevo when he lost control. The victims were on board a small dump truck that had been converted into a passenger vehicle, with most of them sitting in the back.
Disaster response workers and civilians worked together to carry the victims from the bottom of the cliff to the side of the highway.
Other injured passengers are now at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City. (PNA)
UPDATED