2 killed, 3 injured as truck falls off cliff

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines -  Two hitchhikers were killed while three others were badly hurt on Friday when a cargo truck plunged into a cliff along a highway in President Roxas town in west of the province.

Senior Inspector Jojit Nicolas, spokesman of the North Cotabato provincial police office, identified the fatality as Jonas Trecero and Hilario De Juan, who died on the spot from injuries sustained in the accident.

Nicolas said the victims were passengers of a delivery van of the Merryland Confectionary bound for the town proper of President Roxas from Davao City.

Nicolas said the driver of the truck lost control while maneuvering an uphill curve.

The truck’s brake system malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to swerve toward the cliff and fall upside down.

The truck’s badly injured driver, Michael Aviar, and two other passengers, Conrado Trecero and Porferio Napalit, were rushed to a hospital by responding policemen and barangay folks.