SEVENTEEN people aboard a passenger van died when their vehicle was rammed by a cargo truck and subsequently caught fire in Cotabato last Monday afternoon.
The 18th person aboard the ill-fated van and the driver of the killer truck were injured, Antipas town social worker Diosdado Duque told a radio interview yesterday.
The truck, loaded with sand and gravel, encountered a problem while traversing the highway in Barangay Luhong and hit the passenger van traveling in the opposite lane.
Aboard the van were 17 passengers, including two children, and the driver, said Duque.
“Out of the 18 on board the van, 17 died. Only one survived,” said Duque.
“The truck was traveling down the highway. The driver said he lost control of the truck after its tire broke down,” said Duque.
Duque said the truck then hit the van which later caught fire, burning most of the victims.
Duque said the survivor, a former barangay official of Barangay Luhong, was among two passengers who were thrown out of the van due to the impact of the collision. However, the second one later died.
