Deaths at least 21 Date 13 June 2010 | Injuries at least 26 Location Balamban | |
The crash of a bus in Balamban, Cebu, Philippines, killed at least 21 people and another 26 were wounded on 13 June 2010.
Overview
The bus was carrying around 50 passengers, mostly Iranian expatriates who were post-graduate students at the University of the Visayas and Cebu Doctors' University. The bus had been travelling from Cebu City to Balamban. At around 10:30 am, local time, while the bus was traversing the Trans Central Highway in Balamban, Cebu, the brakes apparently failed and the bus fell some 30 meters into a ravine. At least 21 of the passengers were killed, while around 30 were injured.
The Iranian government announced that its embassy in Manila would be probing the bus accident, whose fatalities were mostly Iranian. The Iranian government also announced that it would be sending special aircraft to the Philippines to evacuate its injured nationals. Iranians students had been in the Philippines under a special arrangement for a residency program with the Professional Regulation Commission.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered an immediate probe into the accident. It emerged that the owner of the tourist bus, J & D Tours, had not been accredited by the Department of Tourism, and its remaining vehicles were impounded by local authorities.