MORONG, Bataan – Forty-four passengers, including the driver and conductor, were hurt when the mini-bus they were riding crashed into the perimeter fence made of galvanized iron wire of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and hit a tree along the road here Friday afternoon.
Authorities said 30 were brought to the Morong Municipal Health Center and 10 at the nearby Bagac Medicare Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
As of Saturday, four with fractures either at the foot, arm or shoulder remained at hospitals in Balanga City, police said. Some with minor injuries returned to the Morong center for checkup.
Jayve Gervacio, a passenger, said she came from Manila with her two small children. “Nang sumadsad ang sasakyan, kinober ko ang dalawang anak ko kaya ito tumama,” she said pointing to her wounded nose. She was one of those treated at the Bagac hospital.
“Pababa na ako, pag-apply ko ng preno hindi na gumagana. Tinapakan ko uli tatlong beses, wala, kaya nagdesisyon na ako na ideretso ko kesa sundin ko kalsada. Mabubuwal yon, babaligtad,” minibus driver Roberto Pencil, 60, said.
He said that what he thought best was to crash the vehicle into a tree. “Kung hindi ko idudumog sa puno, didiretso sa bangin,” the driver said. Pencil has swollen wounded foot and injuries on the forehead and chin. Medical staff at the Morong center attended to him.
The bus was traversing a curve, downhill road towards the Morong Poblacion when the mishap occurred. The portion of the perimeter fence along the road it crashed into is about a kilometer away from the mothballed BNPP in Napot Point.
Police Captain Larry Valencia, Morong police chief, said investigation was still going on and that investigators were still checking on injured passengers.
