21 killed in Philippine accident

Manila  : At least 21 people were killed and scores were wounded when a passenger bus fell from an elevated Skyway in Taguig City, Metro Manila, and hit a van under the highway early Monday morning, a senior official said.

A Don Mariano Transit Bus fell from the south bound lane of the highway while on its way to Alabang, Muntinlupa City, at around 6:30 a.m., Xinhua quoted Winston Ginez, chairman of Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board, as saying in a television interview.

The driver of the van was reportedly one of those killed while the driver of the bus was one of the survivors, he said.

Ginez said the bus driver would undergo drug and alcohol test as investigators were yet to determine if the cause of accident was “human error, negligence or mechanical error”.

The families of those who died in the accident would receive $1,697 each while those injured would receive $339 each, he said.