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Ten dead, dozens injured in Philippines bus crash

Koh Ewe
BBC News
Philippine Red Cross/Faceboook People including rescue workers wearing black helmets and black long-sleeved shirts, crowd around the scene of a vehicle accident. A bus is seen with its windshield shattered, and in front of it lies debris of crushed vehicles.Philippine Red Cross/Faceboook
The bus driver had allegedly fallen asleep at the wheel before his vehicle rammed into several others

Ten people have been killed and more than 30 injured after a bus hit several vehicles at a toll gate on one of the busiest highways in northern Philippines, authorities say.

The bus driver, who has been detained, said he had fallen asleep at the wheel, police told AFP, adding that four children were among the dead.

Buses on the nearly 100km (62mi) Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway often ferry workers between Manila and surrounding provinces. The accident on Thursday happened while families were travelling for labour day.

The Department of Transportation ordered the suspension of Solid North Bus, a major bus operator in the region and the company that owned the vehicle involved in the crash.

The bus driver may be charged with "reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides," police told AFP. The bus conductor has also been detained.

The accident also involved three sports utility vehicles and one container truck, the Philippine Red Cross said in a Facebook post.

The organisation said in another post on Wednesday that it was providing food and other aid to people in hospital who were injured by the crash.

Deadly bus accidents are not uncommon in the Philippines.

Drug use among bus drivers have also made headlines in recent weeks - though it is unclear if it was a factor in Thursday's accident.

In April, some public vehicle companies - including buses, jeepneys and tricycles - faced suspension after 84 of its drivers tested positive for prohibited substances.

Transport Secretary Vince Dizon is set to meet representatives from nearly 30 bus companies on Friday after recent accident, local media reported.

"If the driver in this case was sleepy, we should ask how long he has been working. Maybe the bus company forced him to work long hours?" he said in an interview with local broadcaster GMA Network. "We need to look into everything and not just a patchwork of solutions."

In 2023, 17 bus passengers died after the vehicle's brakes failed and it plunged into a ravine in central Philippines, along a winding road known among locals as the "killer curve".

Additional reporting by Joel Guinto