Twenty members of the same extended family were killed today in a head-on bus collision while travelling to Christmas Day mass.
The tragedy occurred in the northern Philippines, police said.
A small bus taking the group to a dawn church service crashed into a
larger bus in the town of Agoo killing the 20 on board, including six
children, police said.
The nine other occupants of the small bus were injured, as were 17
travelling on the bigger bus, according to an updated tally released by
regional police.
“They (the family) were trying to catch a mass in Manaoag,” Agoo police officer Vanessa Abubo told AFP, referring to a northern Philippine town near Agoo with a famous Catholic church.
The centuries-old Our Lady of Manaoag church is a popular pilgrimage
site in the mainly Catholic nation, featuring an icon of the Virgin Mary
which the faithful say performs miracles.
Agoo police chief Roy Villanueva told Manila radio station DZMM by
telephone that the smaller vehicle had left its lane to overtake a third
vehicle.
Authorities are investigating whether the driver, who Abubo said was
among those killed, had fallen asleep or was under the influence,
Villanueva added.
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