Don Bosco students among 11 hurt in Cebu bus accident

At least 11 people, mostly students, were reported injured after a bus they were riding had a mechanical problem and nearly fell into a ravine in Cebu on Friday. Radio dzBB's Cebu affiliate said the the bus passengers were mostly students of the Don Bosco Technical School who were on their way to a spiritual retreat at the Don Bosco Formation Retreat House. Sketchy reports from the town mayor's office said the incident around 10:00 a.m. in Dalaguete town. The bus was reportedly heading up a steep zigzag road when its radiator exploded, causing the bus to skid backward. The bus hit a tree, preventing it from falling into a nearby ravine. Reports said many of the students were injured when they tried to jump off the bus, thinking it would fall into the ravine. Among those injured were the bus driver and their guardian, Fr. Ruben Fernandez. The injured were taken to the Julio Cardinal Rosales Memorial Hospital for treatment. The accident occurred two days after 42 people were killed after a bus fell into a ravine in Benguet province in northern Luzon. To recall, Cebu province had also witnessed a number of fatal road accidents in recent months. Last June 13, 21 people, mostly Iranian medical students and doctors, were killed when the bus they were riding fell into a ravine in Balamban town. Over a week after the Balamban tragedy, another road crash killed four people in Toledo City. –VVP/LBG, GMANews.TV