Sablayan's Disaster Operation Center says 20 others are injured due to the incident

MANILA, Philippines – At least 19 people died and 20 others were injured after a passenger bus fell off a bridge in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday evening, March 20. All photos courtesy of Occidental Mindoro PDRRMO and Sablayan MDRRMO

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – At least 19 people died and 21 others were injured after a passenger bus fell off a bridge in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday evening, March 20. The bus slammed into some stone barricades on the roadside ahead of the bridge and then flew off the road down a ravine, which was 15 to 20 meters (50 to 65 feet) deep. Investigators will try to determine if a brake failure or other mechanical problem caused the accident, Go said, adding there were no skid marks on the road where the bus plunged off the cliff. Sen. Grace Poe took aim at the nation’s regulation system, saying “vehicles that are not roadworthy or even those we label as rolling coffins are still allowed to ply the roads with near impunity.”

Poe renewed her call for the immediate approval of Senate Bill 1637 establishing the National Transport Safety Board to improve transport safety.
A bus falls off a bridge in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, killing at least 19 people and injuring 21 others.