Dozens hurt in SLEx bus mishap

MANILA (UPDATE) – Dozens were injured in a bus accident along South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Monday morning. A Southern Carrier bus, carrying around 50 passengers from Lipa, Batangas, turned over along SLEx's northbound lane after its right rear tires were dislodged near SLEx's Sta. Rosa exit at around 6:45 a.m. At least 21 of the passengers were brought to Biñan Doctors Hospital. Other injured passengers were brought to Perpetual Help Medical Center and San Jose Hospital and Trauma Center. Among those injured were the bus driver and conductor, identified only through their surnames Marasigan and Supillo, respectively. There was no report yet on the exact figure of injured victims rushed to the hospital, as of posting. Radio dzMM reporter Dennis Datu said he spotted 28 passengers being rescued from the crash site. The bus, which was bound for Taft Avenue, blocked three lanes of SLEx after it tumbled. Bus passenger Edgar Lagrimas, meanwhile, said one of the female passengers beside him had her hand severed due to the strong impact of the crash. "Normal naman ang takbo ng bus, tapos biglang naputol iyung gulong niya sa likuran so nag-turn turtle siya, iyung katabi ko nga naputol ang kamay niya," Lagrimas told dzMM. "Ako nasa gitnang upuan kaya medyo galos lang," he added. A dzMM report said the female passenger was brought to San Jose Hospital and Trauma Center in Calamba, Laguna. Another female passenger who was brought to Biñan Doctors Hospital had her face badly scraped up due to the crash. Passengers noted that the bus was not overspeeding and overloeaded when the accident occurred. They attributed the crash to the poor condition of the vehicle. Investigators sid they found an empty sachet of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia, and several empty bottles of alcohol were found inside the bus. The accident snarled traffic in both SLEx's northbound and southbound lanes. The bus firm said it will shoulder the medical expenses of the accidents. – reports from Dennis Datu, dzMM; Francis Faulve, ABS-CBN News