Broderick Train, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, told a press conference that 16 died at the accident site while one died at a local hospital.
Seven other passengers were critically injured and undergoing treatment, Train added.
Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao apologised for the “bloated” deaths and injury figures, and blamed the errors on miscommunication for a lack of cellphone signal in the accident area, Xinhua news agency reported.
She also corrected that the bus only carried 24 people, not 53 as earlier reported.
The bus company also issued a statement confirming that there were only 24 passengers on the bus, adding that their three employees, including the driver, the fare collector and an inspector, were killed in the accident.
The bus was travelling west from Iloilo City to San Jose de Buenavista in Antique province when it crashed into a concrete road barrier before plunging into a ravine of 15-metre depth in Hamtic town.
–Ajit Weekly News
int/khz
News Credits – I A N S
