Four people were killed at train accident in Philippines

Thursday, May 19, 2022

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Rescuers in the Philippines smashed train windows with axes and hammers Friday to reach 100 passengers trapped when a carriage derailed and dragged other cars into a ravine, killing at least four people. Police and Philippine National Railways officials said it was too early to pinpoint the cause but track and fittings in the area had been stolen in the past and sold as scrap metal. Many of the 312 people on board were pulled from the wreckage of the early morning accident and rescuers were focusing on the crowded last car. At least 80 people were injured. "There are still people down there. We're trying to get them out," the police officer directing rescue operations told a radio station from the scene. A conductor on the train, Melquiades del Pillar, said there were about 150 people in the fan-cooled economy carriage, which shuddered when the train rounded a bend, informs ABC News. According to Hinhuanet, At least five people were killed and 48 others injured when a passenger train bound for Manila derailed and fell into a ravine in the northern Philippine province of Quezon early Friday, a local television reported. The incident occurred at 2 a.m. local time (1800 GMT, Thursday) at Barangay (village) Duhat, Padre Burgos town and three coaches of the train came loose and fell into the about 12-meter-deep ravine while the other four coaches toppled over, the ABS-CBN news channel reported. The casualties are expected to rise as an estimated 400 passengers were pulled from the wreckage but rescuers were concentrating on one car, smashing windows to get at people trapped inside, the report said. The civil defense office in Manila said six people were confirmed dead while about 40 had been rushed to hospital for their injuries. There were about 300 people on board the coaches that went down the slope. Local radio reported more than 50 casualties at a hospital in Pagbilao town near Padre Burgos. Neri Amparo of the civil defense office in Manila said the cause of the accident was still being investigated although it appeared to have been caused by a technical problem. President Gloria Arroyo ordered Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza to fly by helicopter to the scene of the accident to personally oversee the rescue operations and the probe into the tragedy. The accident site is about 100 meters from the highway, hampering rescue efforts, he added. Fuentes later said that coaches had been pried open by firefighters who joined the rescue, adds Channelnewsasia

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