By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Four persons were killed after two wingvan delivery trucks collided and caught fire at Barangay Sagua Banua, Valladolid, Negros Occidental early Tuesday morning.
Captain Wilfredo Benoman Jr., town police chief, identified three of the four fatalities as siblings Wendel Larios and Carlo Larios, both residents of Mabinay, Negros Oriental; and Diany Garcia of Barangay E. Lopez, Silay City.
Benoman said they are still verifying the identity of the other victim who was Garcia’s companion.
Benoman said the accident may have occurred after Wendel allegedly fell asleep at the wheel that led to the head-on collision with Garcia’s driven truck.
The collision happened around 12:15 am at a sharp road curve.
“Kurbada na da, wala na estimate guro, kung nadagdag ang trucks, igo gid sa mga pamalay,” he added.
Benoman said the Larios brothers were on their way to Bacolod after their delivery in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, while Garcia, whose truck was reportedly loaded with containers, was on his way to the south.
Benoman said the impact of the collision probably caused fuel in one of the trucks to ignite and led to the huge fire.
Benoman also said that Garcia’s truck probably was loaded with combustible materials or products which even fueled the fire.
Benoman said firefighters from neighboring towns and cities augmented the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in the town to help put out the fire which lasted for more than an hour.
When responders arrived, they even heard one of the victims shouting for help, but the fire was too big which caused a hard time for firefighters to respond and help, the town police chief said.
The victims were stuck in each vehicle which also caused another difficulty for rescuers to retrieve their bodies, he added.
The bodies of Garcia and his still unidentified companion were first retrieved followed by the bodies of the Larios brothers, Benoman said.
