Coast Guard employees die, 5 injured in traffic accident on Palawan

By: Geraldford Ticke – 44 mins ago

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – A Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel died in a car accident that injured three other officers, a sailor and a civilian in Taytay town, Palawan province on Sunday, June 2.

Coast Guard Department-Palawan District (CGD-Pal) spokesman Ens. Chrieson Dave Gabayan said in a report that the PCG personnel were traveling in a Toyota Hilux service vehicle en route to El Nido when the accident occurred around 10 a.m. along the national highway in Barangay (village) Cataban.

The CGD-Pal report states that the pickup truck attempted to avoid a motorcycle that was overtaking it because of another oncoming vehicle, causing the Hilux to overshoot the finish line and fall into a ravine beside the road.

READ: 3 van passengers die, 8 injured in Quezon road accident

Seaman 2nd Class Cyril Orbon, a resident of Narra town, also in Palawan, was reportedly thrown from the vehicle and died on the spot.

The other passengers, Ensign Jhairene Lim, Ens. Jerevy Miag-ao and Ens. Friendly Mercado, who were assigned to Coast Guard Station El Nido and Coast Guard Station Coron, were injured, the CGD Pal said.

The name of the injured civilian passenger was withheld by CGD-Pal.

However, reports from the Palawan Police stated that it was the pickup truck driven by 29-year-old sailor Alfederic Decon that was overtaking a motorcycle. When one of the truck’s front tires suddenly burst, the driver lost control, causing the truck to roll over several times and eventually plunge into the ravine.

The police report also states that the accident victim was thrown from his vehicle by the impact and became stuck in a tree.

Rescue personnel from the Taytay Municipal Disaser Risk Reduction and Management Office rushed the other victims, who sustained multiple injuries, to the Northern Palawan Provincial Hospital for immediate medical attention.