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5 killed in Nasugbu road accident


Five people were killed after a trailer truck dragged a van in Nasugbu, Batangas on Tuesday.

In a report on GMA News' Unang Balita, Ian Cruz said a Manila-bound van with five passengers onboard coming from an exclusive subdivision was dragged by a trailer truck before pinning it to the side of a road.

The report said the rescue team took about 14 hours before they were able to recover the five passengers of the van crushed underneath the trailer.

Authorities said the trailer truck may have lost control of its brakes while negotiating a steep and accident prone area in Barangay Aga in Nasugbu town.

The trailer truck then dragged the van before crashing atop it by the side of a road.

Of the five passengers of the van, one female passenger was still alive when rescuers were extricating them from the crushed ruins of the van and was immediately rushed to an area hospital but died there on Wednesday.

"Mayroon pong nasigaw yung babae pong isa, na sabi po 'tulong, tulong' tapos sabi ko, ilan po ba kayo, lima po... Sabi ko lakasan ninyo lang po yung loob niyo at may darating na rescuer," Rene Nazareno, one of those who helped during the rescue operations said.

Personnel from the police, barangay, municipality, firemen and the Red Cross team all helped to recover the victims.

Alex Pimentel, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief of Nasugbu, Batangas said their team had enough equipment to facilitate the rescue operation.

However, they had a problem accessing the van as it was crushed beneath the truck.

"Yun ang pinakamahirap actually is the access. Kung makikita niyo yung mga posisyon ng sasakyan, nahirapan po ang ating mga responders," Pimentel said.

Meanwhile, some of the relatives of the victims arrived at the area newsonline opted to allow them some time to grieve instead of interviewing them.

The driver of the trailer truck and his companion, who were not identified, sustained only minor injuries and were brought to a hospital for emergency treatment.

The driver said that he has been traversing the same road for seven years without incident and that it was never his intention to cause the accident.

"Bago kasi ako dumaan doon, pumipitik ako ng preno. Lagi ako nagdadaan doon, halos pitong taon na. Nung pabalik na akong ganon, nung i-exhaust para bumagal yung takbo niya, tapos umalalay ako ng konti sa preno, naramdaman kong pumalag yung unahan," he said.

"Nung tumanaw ako sa side mirror, pumapahalang yung trailer tapos nung dapat iuunat ko, didiinan ko yung silinyador, padating naman itong van," he added.

The trailer truck driver also apologized to the families of the victim.

"Sa mga pamilya na nasawian, humihingi ako ng sorry kasi hindi ko naman kagustuhan din yung nangyari," he said.

Nasugbu police authorities are now preparing the charges against the truck driver. — Marlly Rome C. Bondoc/RSJ/KVD, GMA News