One dead, two hurt in Bontoc road accidents

By Francis Degay

BONTOC, Mountain Province – One passenger was killed while two others were seriously hurt in two separate vehicular accidents along the Halsema Highway here at barangays Gonogon and Amlusong on July 28.

In the first incident, police said around 12 noon, a Fuso dump truck with plate number RHK 286 of the RUA Construction driven by Felix Langcao suddenly plunged into a 22-meter ravine at Gonogon.

The accident was allegedly caused by brake failure and locked steering system.

The driver and his helpers Marvin Langcao and Rocelo Pelerios sustained wounds and were brought to the Bontoc general hospital for treatment by the municipal response team led by Bontoc police head Chief Investigator Julio Lizardo.

A certain Fidel Bagangan and an unidentified person who rode on top of the truck were able to jump before the truck and fell down a ravine in Gonogon. Both were unhurt.

The truck was loaded with gravel from Sabangan and was on its way to Sitio Malitep, Balili where one of the batching plants of RUA is located.

In a separate incident at about 6 p.m. that day in Amlusong, a white Pajero with plate number WST 909 driven by one Rezel Bongat Tocyapao of Lubuagan, Kalinga was smashed by big rocks faling from the mountainside t Amlusong critically wounding passenger Jocylyn Baggay Malidom.

The driver was unhurt while Malidom was severely wounded. She was rushed to the BGH by responding hospital personnel but expired at the hospital.

Her body was brought the following morning to Bulanao, Tabuk City where her family resides.

Malidom, based on her identification card retrieved from the crush site, was employee of Philam Life Company.

Before the incident happened, the RUA construction had just conducted blasting operation at Amlusong.

The slide was cleared to let vehicles stranded on opposite sides of the road pass. Some vehicles had already passed but when Tocyapao was about to pass, big boulders abruptly fell down shattering her vehicle.

The RUA Construction is one among constructor firms of State of the Nation projects of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo along the Halsema and Bontoc-Kalinga road.