The Inquirer news outlet reported, citing police, that the accident took place in the municipality of Conner at around 07:00 p.m. (11:00 GMT) on Thursday.
19 people were killed and 22 others injured when an elf truck met a sad fate and fell off a cliff in Conner, Apayao on the eve of Undas on Thursday (October 31).
— UNTV News and Rescue (@UNTVNewsRescue) November 1, 2019
STORY: https://t.co/bHGrXe9xZy pic.twitter.com/CnhLI6MxSk
According to Chief of Conner Police Capt. Manuel Canipas Jr., the truck's engine suddenly stopped while the vehicle was climbing up an uphill road in Barangay Karikitan. With the engine dead, the truck swiftly went backward and slid down into a 20-metre deep ravine. He added that, according to an initial investigation, the truck carried too many passengers which along with its weight caused the tragic accident.
ICYMI: Conner police chief Captain Manuel Canipas Jr. said that based on initial investigation, the Elf truck driven by Merlito Gannaban had a total of 44 passengers and sacks of rice seeds. https://t.co/DNJxowTEKM
— SunStar Philippines (@sunstaronline) November 1, 2019
Mylz Ginez, another official from Conner's Department of Public Works and Highways, pointed out that the truck driver was believed to have lost control of the steering wheel. Moreover, the vehicles' brakes failed to make it fall fell off a cliff in Conner.
The reports added that the majority of those killed were elderly people. They were on their way to the village of Lattut from the Kalinga province where they received financial support and seeds from the government.
Eleven of the injured people have been taken to Conner District Hospital and 11 others are being treated at Cagayan Valley Medical Center.
An investigation into the accident is underway.
The last similar incident took place in December 2017 when a bus crashed into another car, which claimed the lives of 20 of the 29 passengers.
