2 die, 5 hurt as jeep hits tree in Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Two passengers died while five others were hurt when the jeep they were riding veered off the road and smashed into a big tree in Barangay Noa, Magpet, around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Inspector Basilio Parcon, deputy chief for operations of the Magpet police, identified the fatalities as Toto Canaan, 21, and Ronnie Abawan, both residents of Barangay Basak, Magpet.

Injured were Michael Asam, 20, of Barangay Basak; Marcela Tan, 52, of Barangay Noa; Mendoza Gay, 54; Arlyn Gay, 23; and Jemard Camad, all residents of Barangay Balite.

Parcon said the passengers, about 30, were headed to a beach resort in Digos City, Davao del Sur for a thanksgiving party when the accident happened.

Driver Ronan Cabutaje told authorities the vehicle, a double-tire passenger jeep, lost its brakes after its propeller was damaged. A propeller is a shaft that transmits power from the transmission to the rear axis of the vehicle.

The jeep, bearing license plate number KVP 485, was fully loaded with 54 sacks of corn set to be delivered to a trader in Kidapawan City.

Parcon said the passengers who died were among those that boarded the top portion of the jeep.

"When they saw that the jeep was about to leap to a cliff, they immediately jumped from the top but were not lucky," the police officer said.

Other passengers managed to extricate themselves from the vehicle after it hit a tree along the highway, he added.

The injured passengers were transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital in Kidapawan City.