Van, bus plunge into ravines; 4 die

BAGUIO CITY — A van and a passenger bus plunged into ravines in the Mt. Province capital town of Bontoc the other day, killing four people and seriously injuring seven others, authorities said.

The four fatalities — identified as Dario Pilacan, Michael Bumidang, George Mangay-at and Raymund Palecos — were passengers of a maroon van with license plate TEU 200 that fell into a 120-foot deep ravine in Barangay Kadchog.

A fifth passenger, Darwin Pinengco, was brought to the Bontoc General Hospital for injuries, according to Vicente Tomazar, Cordillera director of the Office of Civil Defense.

The group was en route to nearby Sabangan town at about 3:30 p.m. when they met the tragedy.

An hour earlier, a Rising Sun bus bound for Bontoc fell into a 10-foot deep ravine in Sitio Fioco, Barangay Samoki, also in the capital town.

No one was killed but six were hurt, namely, Caroline Anongos, Jona Cofulan, Heidi Atin, Bennie Samoy, Denden Malamnao and Benjie Pagteilan.

Last week, 21 passengers of a Baguio-bound bus cheated death when their vehicle suffered mechanical trouble and plunged into a 200-foot deep ravine in Kapangan town, also in Benguet. — Artemio Dumlao