37 tourists cheat death

BAGUIO CITY — Thirty seven tourists bound for the lowlands after visiting the country’s "vacation capital" cheated death after the passenger bus they were riding fell off a 40-meter ravine along Marcos Highway on Monday.

Although no one died from the accident, the Baguio Emergency Medical Service said that seven of the 37 passengers are now in critical condition in separate hospitals in Pugo and Nazareno in La Union province.

BCEMS team leader Erwin Gayo reported that it was in the boundary of Tuba, Benguet and Pugo, La Union, where the CHER Bus, with plate number TVZ 583, fell off.

Gayo said the passengers, in their mid-20s are employees of the Data Research Inc. based in Manila who attended a conference here. Gayo said that the support of the BCEMS and other rescue groups in the city, together with communications groups in the city, were tapped by the City Government in line with its Oplan Summer Vacation (SumVac) 2003.

He said that BCEMS and other concerned agencies and groups have committed their 24-hour service to thousands of visitors who are expected to visit the city this summer. — Artemio Dumlao