Road Crash in Southern Philippines Kills 14 Workers for US Company
2018.06.04
Cotabato, Philippines
Bystanders crowd around the scene of a two-vehicle accident that killed 14 employees of an American company in Santa Cruz, in the southern Philippine province of Davao del Sur, June 3, 2018.
Mark Navales/BenarNews
The 14 employees who were killed when their vehicle crashed into a 10-wheeler truck in the Southern Philippines worked for an American coconut processing company, police said Monday.
Those killed were employees of the local unit of the Franklin Baker Co. who were traveling in a company van when it collided with the truck near Santa Cruz, a town in Davao del Sur province on Sunday, authorities said. Two others were injured in the crash.
“The victims’ driver failed to see the incoming truck. Witnesses told investigators the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle and slammed into the incoming truck,” local police chief Samuel Gadingan said.
Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, especially in remote areas.
On average, 34 Filipinos die every day in road accidents, according to government statistics.
In February 2017, 14 Bestlink College students and their driver died when their bus struck an electric pole in Rizal, a province east of Manila.
Mark Navales contributed in Davao City contributed to this story.