Bus crashes on mountainside due to ‘Auring’

THE passengers of an inter-provincial bus were lucky to escape unscathed after they crashed on a mountain amidst heavy rains spawned by Tropical Storm Auring in an east coast village in Zamboanga City, a police official reported.

Aside from Zamboanga City, several areas in Zamboanga Peninsula have experienced downpour starting Thursday until Friday.

Chief Inspector Ricardo Garcia, Police Station 2 commander, said the incident took place around 5 a.m. Friday in Sitio Calanasan, Quiniput village.

The bus, owned by the Rural Transit Management Incorporated (RTMI), was en route to the terminal in the village of Guiwan coming from Pagadian City.

Garcia said the driver, Rene Cuesta, lost control of the steering wheel when the bus’s left tires fell into a roadside canal while negotiating a curve. This, as the highway was slippery due to heavy downpour.

All of the passengers were transferred to another RTMI bus that brought them to the bus terminal.