BAGUIO CITY (Updated) -- At least 13 people died when the jeepney they were riding in plunged into a deep ravine in the mountainous province of Benguet, officials said Sunday.
The jeepney, filled with 19 passengers from a politician’s victory party, veered off a mountain road in Buguias town around 2:30 p.m. Saturday and plummeted into a 90-meter (295-foot) deep ravine, initially killing 10 people.
Two more victims died later Saturday and another victim died in a hospital on Sunday, Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said.
Five other people survived with injuries, Fongwan said by telephone, adding one of the 19 people in the jeepney identified as Jerry Bisaya Atas managed to jump out before the vehicle went over the cliff.
Police Superintendent Constancio Chinayog said the Ford Fiera jeep was on its way to Abatan, Buguias, Benguet when the accident happened.
The victims were mostly members of a family who attended an election victory party for reelected Buguias town mayor Melchor Diclas in Barangay Natubleng.
Among those declared dead on arrival after being brought to the nearby hospitals were Biana Olsim, Manuel Langbis, Bino Waclin, Melania Madiano, Alfredo Pattian, Ferdilyn Igualdo, Arnaldo Madiano, Kimberly Waclin, Emma Tosay and Melanio Igualdo.
Another passenger Melin Dasdas died while being transported to Benguet General Hospital (BeGH). Passenger Marrieta Gaspil died while undergoing treatment at the same hospital.
Among those injured were Basilio Baldos, Oronio Agyapas, Nicole Waclin, Wela Waclin, Braille Waclin and the driver Ambrocio Menzi Jr., all residents of Buguias town. Victims sustained fractured bones and are recuperating at the BeGH.
Fog apparently hampered road visibility at the time of the accident, police officer Jefferson Lopez said.
The accident was the deadliest so far this year in the northern region, a scenic agricultural and tourist destination 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Manila where many mountain roads lack railings, lights and safety signs.
Reckless driving, neglected vehicles and roads, and poor enforcement of traffic laws have been blamed for the many deadly road accidents in the Philippines. (JM Agreda of Sun.Star Baguio/VR/With AP/Sunnex)